The late Sheila Nemu Garbi
A soldiers in Bamenda, has killed a taxi driver and his passenger named Sheila Nemu Garbi , a pregnant lady with twins, while trying to stop the vehicle as it escaped control.
Reports say a speeding taxi from Small Mankon was chased by motorbikes as the lady passenger, who was in the back made a distress call, forcing them to suspect kidnapping.
Unfortunately, as they were chasing the taxi, the driver drove past a military checkpoint, where a soldier at the station didn’t waste time firing shots at the speeding vehicle.
The shots hit the taxi driver who crashed into another vehicle and died on the spot.
The passenger pregnant lady who was also hit was rushed to the hospital.
Despite efforts to stabilize her, Sheila also succumbed to her injuries later in the day. Her body was transferred to the Bafut Hospital mortuary, while her twins were buried instantly.
The circumstances of the incident remain murky. Some accounts suggest the driver may have been attempting to kidnap Sheila, while others argue he was simply trying to evade police control. The military is yet to release an official statement clarifying the events.
The shooting has however raised concerns about the conduct of government forces in Cameroon’s conflict-hit North West regions. Critics are asking why soldiers resorted to live gunfire when it was evident a civilian passenger was inside the car.
“The question is not just what the driver’s motives were, but whether alternative, less lethal methods could have been used to bring the vehicle under control,” an observer said.
The tragedy brings the death toll to four, including Sheila’s unborn twins, and underscores the dangers faced by civilians caught between insecurity and heavy-handed military tactics in the Anglophone crisis.