When Tchiroma takes Biya to Paris Court.

In a press release signed on a purported headed paper of the Presidency of the Republic, which has gone viral in the media, he doesn’t contest his “stolen” victory.

He is instead worried about those detained after the October 12 election protests. He deplored the fact that thousands of Cameroonians, "valiant and peaceful citizens," have been "illegally detained" in inhumane conditions in various prisons, in violation of fundamental human rights.

Tchiroma, from his exile in Banjul in The Gambia, is also claiming, according to the release, that after the election, his supporters have been “suffering from savage and brutal repression” through “the chain of responsibility of those who ordered and carried out” the alleged offences. 

He claimed to have “launched a thorough investigation, aimed at gathering all information, collecting various testimonies, and collecting evidence concerning their situation.

The opposition leader asserts that his team, with the support of his Spokesperson, Alice Nkom, have gathered the necessary evidence and testimonies that will allow the courts to deliver justice for the many Cameroonians killed and imprisoned during the demonstrations.

After the disputed election, one of Issa Tchiroma's lawyers, the Franco-Mauritanian Jemal Taleb, announced that the defense team intended to use several legal, judicial, and political levers to contest Paul Biya's re-election and force the current regime to back down. But failing to change the Constitutional Council verdict, they have turned to human rights issues.

After the election, he maintained that “thousands of Cameroonians, courageous and peaceful citizens to whom I reiterate my full and unwavering support, have been illegally detained in appalling conditions in numerous prisons across our country, in blatant disregard of the fundamental principles of human dignity and the rule of law.”

Tchiroma added that “Others, whose memory I constantly honour, have lost their lives in detention, under the hail of bullets, and some, like President and national hero Anicet Ekané (whose situation warranted the filing of a specific complaint) and, more recently, Souleyman Tobi, have been victims of inhuman and degrading treatment.

“Their only crime, for some, was to have peacefully demonstrated against the usurpation by an illegitimate regime of the votes overwhelmingly cast in my favour, consecrating a historic and popular victory; and for others, to have been found in various locations near their homes where the demonstrations were taking place.

“To such an extent that, sacrilege in a country that claims to be a state governed by the rule of law, some of these compatriots are being brought before a Military Tribunal”, he wrote.

He further explained that his petition is based on “meticulous work, thanks to the dedication, professionalism, and civic commitment of numerous lawyers in our country and internationally, figures from civil society, and people of goodwill, that has allowed us to compile the complaint files so that justice may be served for all these compatriots and     contribute to the release of all these illegally detained”.

Perhaps not sure of success at the Paris court, Tchiroma, in his two-page statement to “support the release of the unjustly imprisoned compatriots”, also announced that the next steps will include approaching other competent international bodies regarding issues of arbitrary detention and violations of fundamental human rights, which of curse are international issues.

His complaint looks like the proverbial adage of a “hunter becoming the hunted,” as Le Monde, a Paris influential daily reported last November that the Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji, had promised legal proceedings against Tchiroma “and his affiliates involved in an insurrectionist plot plan aimed at plunging the country into chaos."

Tchiroma since vamoosed into exile. It is left to be seen if his legal action will go through.

There is no qualm that in December after the October 12, 2025 poll, a group of lawyers representing victims of the post-election protests and some international human rights defenders and data from two United Nations sources estimated that at least 48 civilians were killed during the demonstrations, while opposition groups put the toll at 55.

Government officials refuted the data, insisting it was exaggerated, putting its death toll at 16, with more than 800 arrested.

Some minors were released in the northern Regions, while several other youths remain incarcerated awaiting their fate.

Tchiroma wants to free them using the Paris court, where records indicate that it has specialised units with extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction over severe crimes such as terrorism, crimes against humanity and violation of human rights, especially of French citizens.

Only time will tell if Issa Tchioma and his lawyers are conscientiously   on a human rights humanitarian mission or just looking up to a buzz for political propaganda; after a disastrous journey to Unity Palace.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3818 of Monday June 15, 2026