Ayah Paul Abine, Secretary-General of the People’s Action Party has said that state security operatives are investigating to establish whether or not he and John Fru Ndi, National Chairman of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) are funding the Southern Cameroon’s National Council, SCNC, an organisation that the Cameroon gov’t considers as secessionists.

After a visit to the Buea Central Prison, June 27, to fraternise with Maxwell Oben, an SCNC activist under detention, Ayah said that “… the military are busy twisting Oben’s arms to find out whether Ayah Paul and Fru Ndi are funding the SCNC.”

The investigations are probably due to the fact that the two opposition leaders have made statements in the past that insinuate that they sympathise with the cause of the SCNC.

Ayah holds vehemently that “there never has been any reunification, and so nothing can be more facetious and farcical than talking about secession when there never has been a whole.”

“We are just back from Buea Central Prison. Mola Njoh Litumbe, accompanied by Ayah Paul Abine, Mami Mbiwan, a barrister, a man of God and a host of local SCNC leaders, went there for a visit of solidarity to a detained SCNC leader, Oben Maxwell,” Ayah wrote.

“During today’s visit, SCNC had lengthy exchanges with Oben Maxwell and resolved on the spot to take his case to national and international human rights bodies. In all, there were over a dozen SCNC members at the prison but only half was allowed to meet Oben. We were all stunned by Oben’s bustling health, and particularly his high-spiritedness,” he added.

The genesis

Maxwell Oben was reportedly arrested on January 29, 2014 for reading Ernesto Che Guevara’s book on Urban Guerrilla and for educating the youth on the ideals of SCNC. He was arrested at Buea Mile 17 Bus Station and charged for preaching secession, civil war, armed insurrection, and planning to disrupt President Biya’s visit to Buea.

“Without allowing Oben to say whatever in his defence, the officer (at the Military Tribunal) ruled that Oben would be in prison custody for a year, renewable. It would be noted that all along Oben was without legal counsel. His family and SCNC now briefed counsel who lodged an appeal against the order of the Buea Military Tribunal. The Court of Appeal has since ordered the military tribunal to forward to the court the records of proceedings all in vain.

Rather the tribunal in a manner most preposterous has now started hearing a case against Oben… While the case before the Buea Court of Appeal is stalled, the one before the military tribunal is equally stalled on the flimsy ground that the Yaounde military tribunal should make available its records of proceedings to the tribunal in Buea. And of course, no such records there are,” Ayah narrated.