In an interview on Monday, July 18, 2016, on national radio, Mama Abakaï on behalf of all the former hostages, expressed his gratitude to President Paul Biya for “all the means” put in place for their release.

“We spent sixteen months in captivity without a real idea of our location. Only we were told that we were in Central African Republic. We made twelve different camps without communication, without seeing a single person. It was during our liberation that we discovered again human beings,“ said the Mayor of Lagdo who has just spent a traumatic time in the hands of his captors.

“Above all, we’re home. We say thank you very sincerely to the Head of State for efforts at our disposal. This reflects once again humanism we recognize in our President, “said Mama Abakaï.

In Garoua as in Lagdo, families, friends and supporters of the now former hostages prepare for a warm welcome to those men and women who have passed difficult tests in the bushes outside Cameroon.