Two female Government teachers are reported to be currently in Amba captivity in Nkambe, a locality in Donga Mantung Division, troubled North West region of Cameroon. The latter are asking for the sum of FCFA 6 million to release them.
The families of two female Government technical teachers in Nkambe have been without news on their whereabouts since Friday September 10 when they were reportedly abducted by gunmen believed to be Ambazonia fighters.
According to Cameroon News Agency, the two women were allegedly kidnapped for going to school to teach. Their abductors we learned are demanding FCFA 6 million to release them.
One of the two teachers is a nursing mother of a four months old. Reports say before her abduction, she had her matriculation number suspended for not showing up in school.
Since the crisis in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon became violent, kidnappings have been the order of the day in some parts of those two regions. Teachers have been victims of this. Some were released and others killed in captivity.
Last year, eleven of them were kidnapped from a school in Kumbo, in the Bui Division of the North West region after gunmen raided the area. After spending two days in the hands of their captors, the kidnapped teachers regained their freedom.
The kidnapping came days after the murder of seven schoolchildren in Kumba, South West Region by gunmen four of whom were recently slammed death penalty by the Court in Buea.
This violence on teachers and students have been described by many as way to scare parents from sending their children to school in the regions as non-State armed groups continue to battle with Government forces to obtain the independence of the regions.
The regions have been marred by protests and violence since 2017, with residents saying they have been marginalized for decades by the Government and the French-speaking majority.
The violence over the last three years has claimed an estimated 3,000 lives and caused the displacement of over 730,000 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.
That notwithstanding, back to school in the two regions this year is said to have witnessed some great positive changes.
Ariane Foguelm
