Cameroon Journal reporters receive threats

The Cameroon Journal’s reporters across the country have for the past two weeks been subjects to threats from people known and unknown.

The threats came in the form of anonymous phone calls warning our reporters to report on President Biya’s ongoing development projects and help showcase available opportunities for youths to get involved in nation building instead of concentrate on trying to push what the unknown caller described as “a separatist agenda” by reporting on Anglophones and SCNC.

Last Friday, June 5, at 11:18 AM, Nyingchuo Hilary, our Bamenda correspondent received an anonymous phone call from someone who will not disclose his identity. The caller, speaking in very broken English – an indication that he is Francophone, told Nyingchuo that they (the Journal’s reporters) are being deceived by people who have worked and made their money.

The conversation went like this; “Are you Nyingchuo Hilary? Please I am asking for your colleague’s number, I mean Ezieh Sylvanus,” said the caller. Ezieh Sylvanus, it should be noted is one of our Yaounde correspondents. After receiving Ezieh’s phone number, he dropped the call. Five minutes later, he called back still with a blocked number. “Please you are too young to write the things you people are writing on Anglophone marginalization and the SCNC,” he said to Nyingchuo.

When Nyingchuo questioned what he meant precisely, the anonymous caller retorted – “Don’t you write for the social media called Cameroon Journal?” He continued, “Instead of writing on things you do not understand, I advise you to help showcase the ongoing development projects of this government and help youths in knowing the available opportunities for them than trying to separate the country,” the caller said.

In Yaounde, our correspondent Ezieh, inadvertently missed another coded call few minutes after the anonymous caller’s conversation with Nyingchuo.

In Buea, our correspondent, Atia Azohnwi was accosted by a secret service agent who hinted that the Presidency was very keen on anything that can jeopardize Biya’s stay in power, disclosing that The Cameroon Journal has been noted for focusing on anti Biya reports for a while now.

The agent said that Anglophones, despite having a Prime Minister post and other ministerial positions are still asking for so many things, and the media, he said isn’t helping matters. The security operative then kind of counseled our reporter saying that “you should not risk your lives on such sensitive issues of the country.”