Protesting against injustice, abuse of power and torture:

Senior superintendent slaps DGSN in the face, tenders her resignation from police corps

Helen Dina Essoka: I have had enough of the rubbish

CCP Helen Dina Essoka, former Regional chief of unit for control of services (“Police de police”) for the South West region, has resigned from the Cameroon police corps, saying she can no longer bear the injustice by her bosses. She tendered her resignation to President Biya on 12 October 2015.

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde

 “Your Excellency, Sir, I have the honour most respectfully to submit to you my resignation from the Cameroon Police force for the following reasons: I am victim of gross injustice and abuse of power by my hierarchy; i am victim of human rights violations by my hierarchy; I fear for my safety because of death threats from my bosses; my health has deteriorated badly of late, after the long periods of torture I have suffered in the hands of my hierarchy.”

                It was in these words that Senior Superintendent of Police, Helen Dina Essoka, explained the reasons for her decision to resign from the police corps. The former Chief of Unit for Control of Services (“Police de police”) of the South West region on 12 October 2015 tendered her resignation to the Delegate General for National Security, Martin MbargaNguélé and the President of the Republic, Paul Biya.

                In the resignation letter, a copy of which The Median stumbled upon, CPP Dina Essoka explained that for many months running she was made to suffer multiform injustices by her hierarchy to the extent that she has become traumatized and can no longer perform the duties that she was called upon to perform.

                “Your Excellency, because of administrative harassment, financial stress and threats to my life, my health has dramatically deteriorated. I am traumatized and currently in need of close medical attention,” she said; adding that: “under such circumstances, I find it impossible to continue to remain an employee and member of the Cameroon police corps and do hereby, regrettably, tender my resignation.” CPP Essoka further noted: “I have served Cameroon diligently for 17 years and do not desire to continue going through any more torture.”

                Further expatiating on the reasons that informed her decision to resign, the beleaguered lady noted that at a time when she expected to be congratulated by hierarchy for a job well done, the police boss, Martin MbargaNguélé instead proposed to President Biya to relieve her of her duties.

                 “I was unjustly suspended from my duties on 26 June 2014 by a decision of the DGSN….for starting an investigation on the insidious corruption in the infamous land-grabbing saga in Fako division in which local administrators, some top government personalities and even the local police authorities are involved,” CPP Essoka explained, noting that “not only did the DGSN pretend not to have read my reports on the matter, he solely relied on the false reports made by the Regional Delegate for National Security and the Governor both of the South West region, who are alleged to be part of the land-grabbing mafia.”

                CPP Essoka maintained that: “these two people (the SW Governor and Regional Police boss) fabricated and framed stories against me, all with the objective to get me fired from my duty post.”

                The undoubtedly tough and seemingly principled lady, who hails from Tiko in the South West region, says since her suspension by the DGSN on 2 June 2014, she has gone without salary until the day she was tendering her resignation. She notes that this is in utter violation of the law creating the police corps which states inter alia that a suspension shall not go beyond three months.

                She further lamented that despite the fact that CONAC, the Ministry of Lands and State Property, the CDC and the National Gendarmerie also opened investigations on the shameful and criminal land saga in Fako division, the DGSN did not see reason enough to vindicate her and uplift her suspension; he illegally prolonged her suspension for further 13 months, and only re-instated her on 2 July 2015.

                CPP Essoka seized the opportunity of her resignation to draw the attention of President Biya to other cases of policemen who are serving prolonged suspensions without salary, for unjust reasons.

                She pointed out to the Head of State that “it is obvious that the DGSN and his close collaborators are involved in a cover-up on the illegal land-grabbing mafia in Fako division; they have induced him (the Head of State) into error to sign a decision relieving her of her duties as chief of unit for “police de police” in the South West region, just so that they can keep their jobs and continue dispossessing innocent citizens of their ancestral lands.

                CPP Essoka is praying the Head of State to verify how many policemen have been unjustly sanctioned for prolonged periods simply because they have nobody to speak for them. She wondered how many of MbargaNguélé’s brothers and loved ones have ever been sanctioned, despite the charges of terrible crimes brought against them.

                The resigned police superintendent also urged the President to investigate why Anglophone police commissioners have almost always been humiliated on the verge of their retirement from the police force and why some of them abandoned the force even before they were due retirement.

                She expressed the hope that the Head of State in his unquestionable wisdom, will give a just and equitable response to her resignation and order that her retirement benefits and other unpaid emoluments be promptly paid.

                At the time of going to press, we could not immediately get the reaction of President Biya and the DGSN to the resignation of CPP Helen Dina Essoka and the allegations of injustice, abuse of power, persecution and corruption that she enunciated.