Maintains
he’ll only show up for questioning at the special criminal court after
obtaining authorisation from Biya
By
Sylvanus Ezieh in Yaounde
 |
| Atanga Nji: Special duties minister at the presidency |
The minister of special duties at the presidency who
doubles as the permanent secretary at the national security council who was
supposed to appear before the Special Criminal Court, SCC, yesterday to answer
questions relating to his alleged involvement in the CAMPOST embezzlement
scandal failed to show up.
Unconfirmed sources told inquisitive journalists at
the premises of the special criminal court yesterday that upon reception of the
summons, Minister Atanga Nji wrote to President Biya to ask for authorization
to respect the court summons; given that he is still a sitting minister. The
source claimed that Minister Atanga Nji had also written to the special
criminal court to indicate his willingness to show up for questioning as soon
as the president authorizes him to do so.
It is the second time the minister is defying the
court summons. He was initially summoned for last Thursday, November 13, but
failed to show up, reportedly raising the same argument.
Fielding questions on the development, renowned
Bamenda-based lawyer, Barrister Henry Kemende, told The Guardian Post by phone
last night that inasmuch as there is no section of the Cameroon penal code
which states that a government minister must take authorization from the
president before honouring a court summon, the court, out of courtesy, may
serve a minister or a senior government official through his boss.
Going by supposed arguments that have been
spiritedly put up by Minister Atanga Nji, he was directly served the summons;
in disregard of the fact that he works directly under the president at the
presidency. He thus had to notify his boss (the president) and then get
clearance from him before appearing in front of investigators.
Meanwhile, this reporter had by 9 am yesterday stormed
the special police unit at the service of the SCC where the minister’s grilling
was supposed to take place. By 3 pm, when tens of journalists were leaving the
special criminal court premises, not even the police were ready to release any
information about the exact whereabouts of Minister Atanga Nji who seemingly
they were waiting to grill.
Attempts by the several journalists of the private
press who had thronged the area to gather information relating to the matter
met with snobbish and nonchalant responses from the police officers at the
entrance to the court.
“Are you journalists? If you are, just leave
immediately because there is no information for you,” a gendarmerie officer at
the guards’ post said menacingly after we inquired to know if the minister had
arrived or was still being awaited. Further attempts to lure them release
information about what was supposed to be the beginning of a landmark case met
not only with a stiff resistance but threats about a possible arrest of the
inquisitive journalists.
It is not yet clear the exact financial crime or
amount that is imputed on the minister for having embezzled but The Guardian
Post has it on good authority that Atanga’s summons is connected to a racket
uncovered by the supreme state audit at the Cameroon Postal Services – CAMPOST
in 2011. The audit was based on the financial transactions of the institution
between 2004 and 2010.
Going by the supreme audit report, Minister Atanga
Nji illegally received in his account some 469 MFCFA while he was serving as a
cadre at CAMPOST. The amount, according to the report, was transfered into
account no. 031562-004-58 bearing the name “Ets des Jeunes homes d’affaires”
that was allegedly owned by Atanga Nji.
All attempts so far to get Minister Atanga Nji tell his
own side of the summons served him by the special criminal court and his
alleged involvement in the CAMPOST embezzlement scandal have yielded no fruits.
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