Police in Buea yesterday, led by the divisional officer of Buea, carried out a night raid on off licenses and bars indiscriminately arresting people. A GCI volunteer office assistant, Samuel Dingana, was one of those arrested from the “no comment bar” in soppo quarters in Buea. In all, 16 men and 13 women spent the night in the police station.

No nighttime curfew has been declared in Buea so the police raids took many people by surprise. Samuel Dingana said police arrested him and his friends and others at about 10.00 p.m., and promised only that they would be informed of any charges at the police headquarters. However, they were simply put inside a cell where the spent the cold night on bare cement floors. They were unconditionally released at 9.00 a.m.

GCI however consider the arrests and detentions arbitrary, illegal and abusive under national and international human rights law. “It is wrong to round up innocent citizens and just put them in detention under life-threatening conditions and then open the cells the next moment and then say go home”, said GCI's Chief Executive Officer. Freedom of movement, assembly, and security of the individual are guaranteed by the constitution and international laws duly ratified by the Cameroon State party, Samba also said. “Deprivation of liberty must only be in a manner defined by law”.