The Nera 10: A Legal Odyssey from a Hotel Abduction to a Supreme Court Appeal

December 21, 2025

By Joe  Tanyi Tah

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon — In the sterile chambers of the Cameroon Supreme Court this week, a case that has redefined the limits of sovereignty and human rights in Central Africa reached a familiar, frustrating impasse. On December 18, 2025, the appeal hearing for Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and nine other leaders of the self-declared state of Ambazonia( Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, former President of the self-declared Ambazonia, Mr Tassang Wilfred, Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor, Dr. Fidelis Nde-Che, Dr. Henry Kimeng, Prof. Che Augustine Awasum, Dr. Cornelius Njikimbi Kwanga, Barrister Shufai Blaise Sevidzem Berinyuy, Barrister Eyambe Elias Ebai, Dr. Egbe Ogork)—collectively known as the "Nera 10"—was abruptly adjourned until January 15, 2026, after a presiding judge recused himself due to a conflict of interest. 

For these men, the delay is yet another chapter in an eight-year odyssey that began in a luxury hotel in Nigeria and culminated in a life sentence in one of the continent's most notorious prison systems. Their journey from political exile to high-profile detainees is a staggering example of "transnational repression" that has drawn rebukes from both international bodies and regional courts.

The Arrest and Controversial Extradition

The turning point came on January 5, 2018. Ayuk Tabe and his inner circle, operating from exile in Nigeria as leaders of the Anglophone separatist movement, were meeting at the Nera Hotel in Abuja. They were seized by Nigerian security forces, allegedly acting in collaboration with Cameroonian authorities. Despite several in the group holding recognized refugee or asylum-seeker status, they were forcibly deported to Cameroon weeks later in late January 2018.

This act was widely condemned as a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, the international law that prohibits returning refugees to a country where they face persecution.

Detention, Trial, and Enduring Incarceration

Upon arrival in Cameroon, the Nera 10 were held incommunicado for months at the high-security Secretariat of State for Defense (SED) in Yaoundé. In August 2019, a military tribunal sentenced all ten to life imprisonment on charges including terrorism, secession, and hostility against the state.

As of December 2025, they remain incarcerated at the Yaoundé Principal Prison. Their recent Supreme Court hearing was a long-awaited appeal of those life sentences, a process now postponed.

A Frozen Conflict and an Uncertain Future

As 2025 draws to a close, the Nera 10 remain a potent symbol of a bloody, protracted conflict in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions that has displaced nearly a million people. Their legal team continues to push for a political solution. "Justice deferred must not become justice denied," lead barrister Akere Muna said following the latest adjournment.

For the Cameroonian government, the men are terrorists who ignited the conflict. For their supporters, they are martyrs of a struggle for self-determination. As the world watches the January 2026 hearing approach, the question remains whether Cameroon’s highest court will finally heed the rulings from Abuja and Geneva, or if the "Nera 10" will remain an enduring fixture of the dungeons of Yaoundé.

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