THE REPRESSION OF TERRORISM IN CAMEROON

ABSTRACT

Terrorism is a global concern. Cameroon was once known to be a citadel of peace in the Gulf of Guinea until in the early parts of 2013 when Boko Haram terrorism that began in North East Nigeria spread into Cameroon’s Far North. Today, the supposed citadel of peace is now experiencing cross boarder terrorism. Cameroon has made several efforts to check the Boko Harm threats. Military efforts have been used and in 2014 legislators enacted the 2014 anti terrorism law to prosecute Boko Haram militants. In 2017 the code of military justice was enacted, creating a specialized military tribunal for the prosecution of those accused of terrorism. Although Cameroon has made efforts to repress terrorism, the fight has remained challenging, putting the repression efforts into doubts in terms of its efficiency. As a result the objective of this research is to examine the efficiency in the repression of terrorism in Cameroon. To attain this objective, we adopt a qualitative research methodology. We make use of primary such as statutes and secondary data such as textbooks, journal articles and web publications. Our findings revealed that there are many challenges that makes the repression of terrorism inefficient in Cameroon such as human rights abuses by the military, excesses by the vigilante groups, inadequate resources, multiple conflicts in the country, poor level of education by the victim community, religious sympathy, unfair trials under the controversial 2014 anti-terrorism law. We mainly recommend that policymakers should establish long-term objectives for stabilization and set benchmarks for their achievement by securing regular and sustainable funding for the entire stabilization process through reintegration and community monitoring by state and international donors