CPDM Propaganda and the Illegality of Issa Tchiroma’s Extradition
Over the past few days, pro-regime Facebook pages and state-aligned commentators have been busy spreading a familiar narrative that the “advanced talks” between Yaoundé and Abuja will soon lead to the extradition of former minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary from Nigeria to Cameroon.
This story, circulated under the guise of “exclusive intelligence,” is nothing more than CPDM propaganda, meant to project state power and intimidate political dissidents. But behind the loud declarations of “cooperation” and “friendship” between Cameroon and Nigeria lies a deeper truth: what is being planned is not extradition it is an illegal rendition.
1. CPDM propaganda masquerading as diplomacy
The CPDM regime under Paul Biya has long perfected the art of using media propaganda to justify political persecution. By presenting Tchiroma’s case as a matter of “law and order,” regime mouthpieces are preparing public opinion for another illegal cross-border abduction, just like they did in 2018 with the Ambazonian leaders.
This pattern of state-controlled disinformation serves two purposes:
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To normalize illegality by framing it as “interstate cooperation,” and
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To demonize political opponents by labeling them as threats to “national stability.”
But propaganda cannot overwrite law. The Extradition Act of Nigeria (1966) and international conventions both demand judicial oversight, fair hearing, and respect for human rights none of which the CPDM regime has ever honored in its political cases.
2. The 2018 precedent: Nigeria’s shameful collaboration
Let’s not forget: in January 2018, the Nigerian government, under pressure from Yaoundé, illegally handed over 47 Southern Cameroonian activists including Julius Ayuk Tabe to Cameroon.
These men were registered asylum seekers under UNHCR protection in Abuja. They were abducted, denied access to lawyers, and secretly deported to Yaoundé, where they were tried by a military tribunal and sentenced to life imprisonment.
That operation violated:
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The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol
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The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Articles 5 and 7)
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The principle of non-refoulement, which forbids sending anyone to a state where they face persecution.
Nigeria was condemned internationally for that act a stain on its legal and moral reputation. Now, if the same pattern repeats with Issa Tchiroma, it will confirm that Nigeria’s sovereignty has again been compromised by Cameroon’s authoritarian diplomacy.
3. Issa Tchiroma is not exempt from due process
Whatever one thinks of Issa Tchiroma’s political record his years defending Biya’s regime before falling out of favor he still deserves due process.
If Cameroon has evidence of a crime, it must follow legal channels: issue a formal request, present it to a Nigerian court, and allow defense representation.
But we know how this regime operates. “Justice” in Yaoundé has long been weaponized. Political opponents are not judged they are punished. From Marafa Hamidou Yaya to Atangana Kouna to the Ambazonian leaders, every so-called extradition has ended in detention, torture, and show trials.
To call such a system “cooperation” is to insult the very notion of law.
4. Nigeria’s duty to Africa, not to Biya
Nigeria, as Africa’s largest democracy, has an obligation to stand on the side of law and liberation, not on the side of dictatorial appeasement.
Under the OAU Refugee Convention (1969) and the UN Convention Against Torture, Abuja must reject any extradition that risks political persecution or unfair trial.
The Biya regime’s long record of arbitrary arrests, press censorship, and military repression in the Anglophone regions leaves no doubt: returning anyone to such a system without guarantees of fairness is a crime against justice.
5. Propaganda cannot rewrite law or history
The CPDM media machine may flood Facebook with self-congratulatory narratives about “cooperation” and “justice served.” But beneath that veneer is a desperate state trying to mask its insecurity through spectacle.
The same slogans were used in 2018 and history will not forget how that ended: with illegal deportations, torture, and international condemnation.
Cameroon’s regime wants to control the narrative, but law is not written on Facebook.
The truth is simple: any extradition without judicial process is a kidnapping, and no African state should enable another’s repression.
The Fanonian reminder
Frantz Fanon once wrote:
“When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.”
This suffocation is political, not physical. When governments collude to silence dissent, they rob Africa of the very air of freedom.
Let Nigeria and Cameroon remember: liberation cannot coexist with complicity. As Amílcar Cabral urged, “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories.”
Justice must not be sacrificed at the altar of political friendship.
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