A nine man delegation of Anglophone lawyers from both the South West and North West regions May 28 served the Cameroon government with resolutions of the May 9 All Anglophone Lawyers conference which held in Bamenda.
The President of Fako Lawyers’Association in a mail to the Cameroon Journal forwarded proof of service to the Prime Minister, Senate President, Speaker of the Assembly, Minister of Justice, through the Bar Council President, and Bar Council President.
Diplomatic missions served include Nigerian Embassy, U.S. Embassy, Canadian High Commission and the British High Commission.
The lawyers are demanding a return to a two-state federal system, creation of a second chamber of the free press and Supreme Court in consideration of the country’s bi-jural system, amongst others. They have said these are the only conditions necessary for the effective accommodation of the bilingual and bi-jural systems in Cameroon.
They have given President Biya six months to address these demands failing which they will seek international redress.
The lawyers have deliberately decided to keep the leadership of the struggle discreet as part of strategy to check any attempts of buying over those assigned to negotiate with government officials, we learned.
The Cameroon Journal has equally been informed that even the team that served government with the petition is just a temporal commission. Their only task was to follow-up and serve government. The team will be reconstituted in the nearest future. “Keeping the names of those that make up the team discreet is part of the strategy.” Barrister Agbor Nkongho told The Journal.
Agbor Nkongho dispelled rumours that the submission of the Bamenda ultimatum to Yaunde authorities was delayed because of cracks within the ranks of the Anglophone lawyers. “You have never had any human grouping in the world where all voices are in unism,” Abgor stated, revealing that during the Bamenda meeting there were extremists as well as pro-government voices but a common ground was reached and that is the essential thing.
