{"id":4614,"date":"2018-03-18T18:24:58","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T18:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/ng\/?p=4614"},"modified":"2018-03-18T18:24:58","modified_gmt":"2018-03-18T18:24:58","slug":"developing-story-in-america-cameroon-group-storm-nigeria-embassy-in-washington-dc-protest-demand-president-buhari-to-release-their-leaders-apprehended-in-abuja-states-anglophone-separatists-wer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/developing-story-in-america-cameroon-group-storm-nigeria-embassy-in-washington-dc-protest-demand-president-buhari-to-release-their-leaders-apprehended-in-abuja-states-anglophone-separatists-wer\/","title":{"rendered":"DEVELOPING STORY IN AMERICA: Cameroon Group storm Nigeria Embassy in Washington DC…Protest, Demand President BUHARI to release their leaders apprehended in Abuja *States anglophone separatists’ were abducted by Nigeria\u2019s intelligence agency * Claims fully armed Nigerian security agents invade Neras Hotel in Abuja on Friday, January 5, 2018 to kidnap their leaders *Placard reads: ‘Abducted in Nigeria, Ambazonians deserve the right to freedom, Let our President go’ * ‘In Cameroon unrest began in November 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest regions took to the streets, calling for reforms and greater autonomy. We are demanding Nigerian government to immediately release our leaders arrested in Abuja’-Chris Anu, secretary of communications, Cameroon\u2019s English-speaking separatists’ state of Ambazonia * ‘We are Innocent of this allegation’-Nigerian Govt BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU\/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF, Washington DC"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEVELOPING STORY IN AMERICA:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Cameroon Group storm Nigeria Embassy in Washington DC…Protest, Demand President BUHARI to release their leaders apprehended in Abuja<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

*States anglophone separatists’ were abducted by Nigeria\u2019s intelligence agency<\/strong><\/span>
\n* Claims fully armed Nigerian security agents invade Neras Hotel in Abuja on Friday, January 5, 2018 to kidnap their leaders<\/strong><\/span>
\n*Placard reads: ‘Abducted in Nigeria, Ambazonians deserve the right to freedom, Let our President go’<\/strong><\/span>
\n* ‘In Cameroon unrest\u00a0began in November 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest regions took to the streets, calling for reforms and greater autonomy. We are demanding Nigerian government to immediately release our leaders arrested in Abuja’-Chris Anu, secretary of communications, Cameroon\u2019s English-speaking separatists’ state of Ambazonia<\/b><\/span>
\n* ‘We are Innocent of this allegation’-Nigerian Govt<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU\/AMERICAN FOREIGN BUREAU CHIEF, Washington DC<\/strong><\/p>\n

FEW DAYS AGO, A SEPARATIST GROUP OF CAMEROON PROTESTERS under the aegis of ‘Ambazonians’ marched round Nigeria Embassy in Washington DC, United States openly demanding the immediate release of their political leaders allegedly picked up by fully armed Nigerian security\u00a0agencies in their lodged Nreas hotel located in Abuja.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This anglophone-speaking Cameroon group have written an open letter to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari demanding that he immediately orders the release of <\/b>their<\/b><\/span>\u00a0leaders still help in various unknown detentions in Nigeria’s federal capital territory.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

As witnessed by our correspondent, these demonstrators in their dozens carrying various placards in front of the embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC, screamed on top of their voices demanding the immediate release of their leaders allegedly arrested in Abuja.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Cameroonian anglophone separatists have claimed that their leaders were abducted in Abuja by what they believe to be Nigeria\u2019s intelligence agency to which the Nigeria’s federal government have denied the allegation. A reliable security source at the Nigeria Intelligence\u00a0Agency who would not want his name in print absolved Nigeria of any involvement in the brewing scandal.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

His words: “It is certainly a figment of imagination, rumor and tissue of lies to have alleged that Nigerian security operatives or Nigerian government has a hand in the concocted\u00a0story of some Cameroonians abduction and disappearance. That is totally false. All lies. Let them prove it.”<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The protesters’ placards carried different inscription which read \u201cAbducted in Nigeria, Ambazonians<\/strong>\u00a0deserve the right to freedom, Let our President go”. They (protesters) marched round the embassy, condemned the alleged arrest and detention.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Addressing the press, Chris Anu, secretary of communications for Cameroon\u2019s English-speaking separatists named ‘state of Ambazonia’, explained what transpired in Nigeria, \u201cAt around 7:30 p.m in Nigerian time, gunmen came into Neras Hotel in Abuja on Friday, January 5, 2018 to abduct all our leaders including our president. The separatist leader and six others were taken away during a meeting in the hotel.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On the unrest in Cameroon, Anu states that “the unrest in Cameroon began in November 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest regions took to the streets, calling for reforms and greater autonomy. They were frustrated with the dominance of the French language in official matters and with what they saw as the marginalization of Cameroon\u2019s Anglophone population. The protests were followed by a harsh government crackdown, as well as internet shut-downs and arrests.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“In October 2017, secessionist groups declared the independence of the so-called Anglophone ‘state\u201d of Ambazonia’. International rights groups say that between 20 and 40 people were killed in clashes since late September.”<\/strong><\/span>
\nAccording to Amnesty International, at least 500 people were detained in the aftermath of the announcement.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DEVELOPING STORY IN AMERICA: Cameroon Group storm Nigeria Embassy in Washington DC…Protest, Demand President BUHARI to release their leaders apprehended in Abuja *States anglophone separatists’ were abducted by Nigeria\u2019s intelligence agency * Claims fully armed Nigerian security agents invade Neras Hotel in Abuja on Friday, January 5, 2018 to kidnap their leaders *Placard reads: ‘Abducted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}