- Five Nigerian pastors have been arrested and detained by Cameroonian authorities in the Idabato II community
- The detention followed the kidnap of the community’s Divisional Officer, Ewane Roland, by armed men in early October
- The Cameroonian government blamed Nigerians in the area for Roland’s abduction and deployed soldiers to arrest them
- The pastors were arrested for allegedly defying a lockdown order imposed by the Cameroonian authorities
- The incident has forced many Nigerians to relocate to neighboring communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River
Cameroonian authorities have detained five Nigerian pastors in the Idabato II community, formerly known as the Bakassi Peninsula, over the abduction of the community’s Divisional Officer, Ewane Roland. The pastors, Adeleke Omoniye, Cascar Ubom, Etim Asuquo, Olamide Ayeye, and Umoh Atete, were arrested for allegedly defying a lockdown order imposed by the Cameroonian authorities.
According to Eniola Alabo, a former chairman of the Yoruba community in the defunct Bakassi Peninsula, the Cameroonian government blamed Nigerians in the area for Roland’s abduction and deployed soldiers to arrest them. The soldiers invaded the community, shooting sporadically in the air, and arrested the pastors.
The incident has forced many Nigerians to relocate to neighboring communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River. The Cameroonian authorities have made life unbearable for Nigerians in Idabato, with many suffering varying degrees of injury during the raid.
