Yaounde High Court:

 

Ayah Paul Abine

Will AYAH be released tomorrow?

-The Supreme Court advocate general was at the Nfoundi High Court last Thursday. He would be there again tomorrow Tuesday

By Nche Jude Mbah in Yaounde

Ayah Paul Abine, the arrested and detained advocate general of the Supreme Court, may be released tomorrow Tuesday, that is if information from his lawyers are anything to go by.

                Ayah appeared before the judge of the Yaounde High Court on Thursday last week and that was when the court was convened for the first time to examine his application for Habeas Corpus. Ayah and his lawyers had applied to the court to release the Supreme Court advocate general immediately and unconditionally, on grounds that his arrest was unlawful, his detention illegal and the requisite procedure for his arrest not respected.

                Ayah and his lawyers noted in the Habeas Corpus application that was signed by Ayah himself, that his arrest and detention were illegal by virtue of sections 629, 585, 119(4) and 18 of the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code. They noted that by virtue of these articles of the criminal code the requisite legal procedure for arrest of a senior magistrate of Ayah’s standing or of even an ordinary common law offender was never respected. Because of this Ayah and his lawyers are urging the Hight Court Judge to release Ayah immediately and unconditionally.

                Whilst in court on Thursday, Ayah’s lawyers also reportedly observed that the written submission that was supposed to be presented by the commissioner of government who ordered Ayah’s arrest was never presented. Even though the document renewing Ayah’s remand in custody was presented, his lawyers noted that the absence of the written submissions on his arrest only corroborates their claim that his arrest was unlawful.

                Because no one of these observations by Ayah’s lawyers was ever challenged by the court, the lawyers including Barristers Kisob, Ndong and Maurice Kamto, are hoping that their client could be released tomorrow Tuesday, that is when the hearing on the Habeas Corpus resumes.

                Ayah’s lawyers said they only learnt in court that Ayah had been charged with terrorism, rebellion and disemination of false information.

                Meanwhile, a family source has disclosed that the secretary of state in charge of the national gendarmerie, Jean Batiste Bokam, and the director of central administration at the national gendarmerie, General Elokobi Daniel Njock last week paid a ‘courtesy visit’ to Ayah, at his detention cell at the SED. The two senior officials of the gendarmerie were accompanied by at least six gendarme colonels, it was revealed.

                Though the exact reason for the visit was not immediately known, we learnt that during their stay with Ayah, the officials tried to get Ayah to accept certain conditions for his release. We learned that Ayah declined the suggestion of the officials, instead telling them (Bokam and Gen. Elokobi) that they have betrayed him.  Bokam was Ayah’s classmate at the Government Bilingual Grammar School Man ‘o’ War Bay while Gen. Elokobi was Ayah’s ‘small’ at the same school.

                Bokam and Elokobi reportedly told Justice AYAH Paul that they were there for a courtesy call. They seized the opportunity to ask him what he needed if he must be released. AYAH replied that he needed nothing personally but that AgborBalla, FontemNeba, ManchoBibixy and all others that were arrested in connection to the Anglophone struggle be released. Ayah also called for the immediate demilitarization of the NW and SW, the restoration of internet and the organization of genuine dialogue at the round table, we learnt.

                AYAH also reportedly asked his guests the reasons for his arrest and who ordered the arrest in the first place. He proceeded to lecture them on the laws that were violated in the process of his arrest, elaborately quoting from the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code and the Cameroon penal code. 

                AYAH told his hearers that if his arrest was because of his federation stance then it was not new. He reminded them that even when he ran for presidential election in 2011 on the ticket of the PAP he heralded the federation subject in his campaign. Ayah questioned why he was not arrested then. He wondered why other politicians who also harp on the federalism issue daily have not been arrested like him.