Former House of Representatives member Hon. Abdul Oroh has once again urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to use diplomatic and political channels to secure the release of Nigerian professors and other professionals detained in Cameroon.
Oroh, alongside lawyer Joseph Fru, stressed that these detainees have been languishing in Cameroonian prisons for over five years despite being law-abiding citizens. Addressing journalists in Abuja, Oroh called attention to the petition filed by FRULAW Chambers with the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions.
The detainees’ lawyers expressed frustration over the absence of key representatives from both Nigeria and Cameroon at a crucial House Committee meeting on June 11, 2024. This non-appearance has significantly stalled efforts to secure the release of the professors and other detained individuals.
The detained professors and professionals were arrested at Nera Hotel in Abuja on January 5, 2018, by Nigerian security agents. They were subsequently repatriated to Cameroon, tried by a military tribunal, and sentenced to life imprisonment at the Kondengui Maximum Security detention facility.
In their petition, the asylum seekers urged the Nigerian government to take urgent action to implement the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s Communication 59/2022, which calls for their release. They also requested the enforcement of three 2019 Federal High Court rulings ordering their release and compensation.
Oroh highlighted that the detainees were apprehended while in the custody of Nigeria’s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) before being transferred to Cameroon. He appealed to President Tinubu, noting his background as a human rights advocate and former refugee, to intervene with Cameroonian authorities to secure their release.
Joseph Fru emphasized that the detainees’ abduction and deportation were arbitrary and illegal, calling for transparency and accountability from the involved officials. He clarified that the detainees were abducted, not legally arrested, and their transfer to Cameroon was not a legal repatriation but an unlawful abduction.
The lawyers continue to push for the implementation of international and domestic legal rulings to ensure the detainees’ release and uphold justice.
