KEY POINTS
- Lucas Ayaba Cho, a Cameroonian separatist leader, was arrested in Norway.
- Cho is a prominent figure in the Anglophone movement seeking independence from Cameroon.
- He may face extradition to Cameroon, where he could be sentenced to 30 years in prison.
A Cameroonian separatist leader has been arrested in Norway for his alleged role in the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon, according to Norwegian police.
Lucas Ayaba Cho was arrested Tuesday on charges related to his statements on social media, his lawyer told the BBC.
Cho is a key figure in the Anglophone movement pushing for independence from Cameroon, where more than 6,000 people have been killed and nearly a million displaced since fighting began in 2016.
Some residents in the country’s two English-speaking provinces say they are discriminated against by the French-speaking majority.
Amnesty International has accused both government troops and separatist forces of committing killings, rapes, and torture against civilians.
A Cameroonian official told the BBC that Norway and Cameroon have a security agreement, which could lead to Cho’s extradition in the coming days.
Who is Lucas Ayaba Cho?
Cho, 52, is one of the most prominent separatist leaders in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. He leads the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC), the political wing of the Ambazonian Defense Forces (ADF), one of several groups fighting for independence.
Operating from Norway, Cho is believed to have ordered a recent two-week lockdown as part of the separatists’ campaign to boycott schools.
Known for his hard-line stance, he was criticized after ADF fighters in the North-West region ordered taxi drivers to repaint their yellow vehicles in white and blue, the colors of the proposed breakaway state of Ambazonia. Some who refused had their vehicles burned.
According to a report by Ghana Web, Cho’s group has also imposed a “liberation tax,” requiring people in the Anglophone regions to pay to support the conflict.
In January 2017, Cho said he survived an assassination attempt after meeting with other separatist leaders in Belgium. His radical views date back to the 1990s when he was reportedly expelled from the University of Buea for participating in protests over tuition hikes.
Legal proceedings and potential extradition
Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service (KRIPOS) said Cho “plays a central role in an ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon.” Investigators requested his custody Wednesday in the Oslo District Court.
“We are in the early stages of the investigation, and several steps remain,” prosecutor Anette Berger said.
If convicted in Cameroon, Cho could face up to 30 years in prison.
Emmanuel Nsahlai, a U.S.-based lawyer representing victims of the Anglophone crisis, welcomed Cho’s arrest as a “significant victory” against separatist violence.
“This arrest is a critical step toward holding him accountable for his actions and bringing justice to his victims,” Nsahlai said.
Cho is not the first separatist leader to be arrested abroad. Since the conflict began, the Cameroonian government has urged other countries to extradite separatist leaders for trial.
In 2018, Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, another leader of the Anglophone separatist movement, was arrested in Nigeria along with 46 others and later extradited to Cameroon.
