Buea: Military court acquits three brothers accused of terrorism.

The case, which ran for 13 hearings over a year, began on August 13, 2025 after the brothers were reported to the Gendarmerie Legion by their uncle, Chief Professor Abangma Sampson, who is traditional ruler of Bache Village.

The retired Professor had alleged that they were aiding and abetting acts of terrorism linked to Ambazonia fighters.

The court panel, led by Lieutenant-Colonel-Magistrate Honore Samuel, President of the Buea Military Tribunal, with Captain Nkemi A Zock Arthur and Captain Nyong Stephen Paul as assessors, ruled that no incriminating evidence was presented to link the accused to terrorism. 

Major-Magistrate Eyebe Etoundi Ignace and Captain-Magistrate Kono Eric Aurel, the State Prosecutor and deputy respectively, led the prosecution. 

Staff Sergeant Djitafo Cyrille Joel served as Registrar, with Makolo Njie Elvis as interpreter.

In interviews after the ruling, both the defence and the accused said the case exposed how personal conflicts are being channeled through the courts amid the Anglophone crisis. 

Speaking outside the court, Abangma Louis Keto Kejang said the ordeal began over inheritance. The dispute, he said, dates to 24 March 2025, when issues concerning their late father’s land in Bache arose. 

He added that administrative injunctions signed by both the SDO of Manyu and the DO of Akwaya were issued and executed, but violated by his uncle. 

“…my uncle gave instructions for the injunctions to be violated. I submitted that evidence to the court. So, the court understood that this was a land issue and not what was alleged,” he said. 

Despite the challenges, he said the family was relived with the verdict of the court. 

“For more than a year, we appeared before the Buea Military Court 13 times. That is from 12 July 2025 to 12 August 2026 and God, who sees what no man can see, knew that we were innocent. We thank God that the judges saw that the accusations were not true. That is why we have been discharged and acquitted,” he recalled.

The counsel for the accused, Barrister Keme Nicholas Ogbe described the verdict as historic. 

“The military court did not find any incriminating evidence and we appreciate the judge, the assessors and state prosecutor who discovered that the facts of the case before them displayed quite a different thing; which is a land dispute. These three have been fighting to reclaim the estate of their father in Bache village and he turned it around to blackmail and destroy their career and the court said no,” he said.

Barrister Ogbe warned against the misuse of the justice system by people looking to settle their personal scores using the law as an instrument. 

He noted that the court ordered the complainant to pay costs amounting to over 100,000 FCFA, failure of which he risks nine months imprisonment. 

In this light, the learned Counsel saluted the court, while encouraging prosecutors to focus on prosecution not persecution, not fabricating evidence to suit those who want to use the courts to settle their differences with their enemies.

Beyond the case, the acquittal raises fresh questions about how the ongoing Anglophone crisis is being exploited to settle personal scores by powerful people.

The court’s finding that a family inheritance matter was instrumentalized confirms concerns raised by civil society about false accusations destroying lives in conflict-affected regions.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3885 of Friday August 21, 2026