Breaking News - Nigeria Extradites Separatists Julius Ayuk Tabe and 46 Others To Cameroon

Cameroon will try the leaders of a secessionist movement after Nigerian authorities put them on a plane to the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, on Jan. 26, according to the government.

The 11 leaders of the movement, including the self-proclaimed president of Cameroon’s two-English-speaking regions, are held in a Yaounde prison, Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told reporters late Monday. While there is no extradition treaty between the two neighbors, the Cameroonian government has issued an international arrest warrant that justifies the extradition, he said.

Breaking News - Nigeria Extradites Separatists Julius Ayuk Tabe and 46 Others  To Cameroon

Nigeria’s move “goes a long way to demonstrate the excellent relations enjoyed by the brotherly and neighboring countries,” Tchiroma told reporters. The men, who are labelled terrorists by the government, had been held at an undisclosed location in Nigeria since Jan. 6.

Violence in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions has intensified amid a government crackdown on supporters of the secessionists, who call their area the Republic of Ambazonia.

Le gouvernement camerounais confirme l'extradition de 47 terroristes dont Ayuk Tabe Sissiku. Ils sont depuis quelques heures entre les mains de la justice camerounaise. Le ministre de la communication se félicite de la coopération du gouvernement nigérian pic.twitter.com/UrZgGMrzCK

— CRTVweb (@CRTV_web) January 29, 2018

The unrest began more than a year ago with peaceful protests against the French language’s dominance in courtrooms and schools. The English-speaking minority, about a fifth of the population, has complained of marginalization for decades.