Cameroon 's authorities should immediately conduct an effective, independent, transparent investigation into a death in police custody on January 17, 2025, Human Rights Watch said today. Those responsible for the death and alleged torture of Abdoul Wahabou Ndandjouma, 36, should be held accountable.
Ndandjouma was arrested with another man, Mohaman Toukour Nana, on January 17, and taken to a police station in the city of N'Gaoundéré, in the northern Adamawa region. Nana, who was released the same day without charges, told Human Rights Watch that police interrogated him and Ndandjouma in separate rooms, but that he could hear Ndandjouma screaming in pain. On January 18, the governor of the Adamawa region informed Ndandjouma's family that Ndandjouma had died and that his body was at N'Gaoundéré's regional hospital.
"Ndandjouma's appalling and senseless death is just the most recent case in a pattern of abuses by the Cameroonian security forces," said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities should immediately open an effective investigation, guaranteeing both independence and transparency, into his death, as well as other cases of torture and death in detention that the government has persistently ignored."
A lawyer representing Ndandjouma's family said he will file a police complaint in the capital, Yaoundé.
Ndandjouma's relatives told Human Rights Watch, that four officers in civilian clothes arrested Ndandjouma at his shop, without a warrant, and then went to his home, where they arrested Nana.
"They came with Ndandjouma, who was handcuffed, and searched the whole house," Nana said. "They said we were drug dealers but found no evidence of that in the house and then took us to the office of the judicial police in a police truck." Nana recognized one of those who arrested him and Ndandjouma as Angoua Engouulou, a police officer.
Nana said that during his interrogation he could hear Ndandjouma screaming in pain and begging the police to take him to the hospital. He also said that at about 4 p.m., a "police commissioner came and argued heatedly with the police officers next door, telling them to immediately take Ndandjouma to the hospital."
Ndandjouma's father told Human Rights Watch that on the morning of January 18, Kildadi Taguieke Boukar, the governor of the Adamawa region, called him and told him to retrieve the body at N'Gaoundéré's regional hospital. "I initially refused, I told him that my son had been arbitrarily arrested, and that we want an investigation to shed light on the circumstances of his death," he said. "My son was in very good health before his arrest, we want an autopsy to be carried out, and we demand justice."
Ndandjouma's family and lawyer said that an autopsy was carried out on his body at the regional hospital between January 20 and 24. "Ndandjouma's family doesn't know the outcome of the autopsy yet," the lawyer said.
Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups have previously documented the widespread use of torture in Cameroon's official and unofficial detention facilities, as well as against political opponents, journalists, and political activists.
The United Nations Committee against Torture-independent experts who monitor the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment-expressed concern in December 2024 about "the large number of deaths, including violent deaths, that reportedly occur in places of detention" in Cameroon as well as about "allegations that torture and a lack of healthcare are frequent causes of death in custody."
Ndandjouma's death comes amid an increased government crackdown since mid-2024 on opposition and dissent, before presidential elections later this year.
In June 2024, gendarmes in N'Gaoundéré arbitrarily rearrested artist Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, for allegedly insulting a governor. In July 2024, members of the intelligence services in the Littoral region arrested a social media activist, Junior Ngombe, for his TikTok videos advocating democratic change, and security forces forcibly disappeared and allegedly tortured Ramon Cotta, a social media activist known for his TikTok videos criticizing the Cameroonian authorities.
In December 2024, the authorities snatched Yérima Djoubaïrou Tchéboa, a political activist and government critic, on the streets of N'Gaoundéré and forcibly disappeared him. On January 21, the government released a document dated January 6, stating that Djoubaïrou was in police custody and was suspected of planning to burn voting booths. That was the first time that Djoubaïrou's family and lawyers saw the document.
Cameroonian authorities have also recently curtailed the work of organizations monitoring human rights abuses, including in prison, and preventing torture. On December 5, 2024, the minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, issued a decree without prior notification suspending the activities of prominent human rights group Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Réseau des Défenseurs des Droits Humains en Afrique Centrale) for three months. The decision lacked any lawful basis, violated the right to freedom of association under both Cameroonian law and international human rights law, and harmed victims of abuses.
Ndandjouma's death in police custody comes two years after Martinez Zogo and Jean Jacques Ola Bebe, both journalists, were found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Under national and international human rights law, Cameroonian authorities have an obligation to conduct a credible, thorough, and independent investigation and to account for any death in detention. The investigation should be capable of identifying anyone responsible for the death, including due to negligence or unlawful action, and of leading to their prosecution. Failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible would violate Cameroon's obligations to protect the right to life, and to provide an effective remedy.
"Cameroon has a pervasive culture of impunity when it comes to abuses by its security forces," Allegrozzi said. "A failure to effectively investigate this latest case, as in many other cases of serious abuse, including torture and death in custody, would not just deny justice to Ndandjouma and his family, but give a green light to Cameroon's security forces for such abuse."
