Ewane Roland now breath fresh air at home with family
By Ahone Heidi
Roland Ewane, the sub-divisional officer for Idabato, a Southwest region who was kidnapped in October 2024 has finally been release after five months in captivity and inhuman torture by Nigerian Pirates.
The pirates are said to have demanded over 1.9 billion ransom. The circumstances of his release remain undisclosed but media reports say the family with help from well wishers paid huge sums to secure his release. Its sill not known if the government also paid part of the ransom requested by the kidnappers. Among their other request was the unconditional release of some of their compatriots incarcerated in Buea.
Reports say he was taken to the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) camp in Jabane, near Idabato, where he received a medical examination. Doctors reported he was in good health, despite significant weight loss and slightly elevated blood pressure attributed to stress.
Ewane has since joined his family. Photos on social media show his family jubilating over his release and God’s care over his life.
It should be recalled that during a parliamentary session in November, Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said the government was concerned about Ewane’s fate and was working to secure his release, citing cooperation between Cameroonian and Nigerian law enforcement agencies. It is unclear if this cooperation contributed to Ewane’s release.
Gilbert Guibai Baldena, SDO for Ndian division where Idabato is located, told reporters that the captors freed the official by 7:30 p.m.
It is not immediately clear whether the councilor who was also kidnapped has also been freed.
Armed separatist groups are known to be active in the Bakassi Peninsula, which was once at the center of a boundary demarcation conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria
In a relaxed mood riding back home
