Police Releases Nigerians Held Prisoners By Islamic Holy Man

Police have found 17 Nigerians among other 70 prisoners seemingly being “held as prisoners” by an Islamic holy man. AFP reports that during the raid on Islamic school on August 8 in Ngaoundere, capital of Adamawa region, police found prisoners — 10 women, one man and six children — who were in the country unlawfully, 19 Cameroonians without official papers and 35 other Cameroonians. The rest of the group seemed to be prisoners of the holy man in the school and some were in chains, the source said, continuing that the circumstances surrounding their custody was still being examined. However, the police confirmed the seizures, defining the place as a “Koranic school” where “many people” were “held as prisoners by a holy man”. The raid came as northern Cameroon has been beleaguered by the Nigerian deadly Boko Haram sect. The militant group, which has aligned itself with the radical Islamic State group in the Middle East, seeks the establishment of an Islamic state in Nigeria.