We begin by expressing our appreciation for the release of the five Reverend fathers and sisters who were previously held. Their release is a welcome act of humanity and restraint, consistent with our values and the principles that guide our quest for justice, dignity, and self-determination.

However, we must address, with due seriousness, the recent letter from the Archbishop of Bamenda, paragraphs 4.2 and 4.3, calling for churches and schools to close and for followers to march to Baba to demand the release of Father Berinyuy. While we recognize the emotional weight of this call, we must equally point out the long-standing silence and selective activism of certain church leaders in the face of a brutal and ongoing genocide unleashed by the Biya regime against the people of Ambazonia.

For years, Ambazonian Catholic Christians and other Christians, men, women, catechists, youths, and even clergyhave been arbitrarily arrested, tortured, disappeared, and killed by the Cameroon military. Yet, we have not witnessed these bishops organizing a march to free their parishioners unjustly detained in Yaoundé, Buea, Bamenda, or Douala. We have not seen a call to action from them when entire villages were burned, children mutilated, and pregnant women murdered. We have not heard sermons dedicated to truth and justice when political prisoners, fathers, mothers, pastors, and teachers are languishing in jail for exercising their right to self-determination.

Instead, the Archdiocese of Bamenda has increasingly become entangled, willingly or unwillingly, in narratives that legitimize oppression, sanitize injustice, and indirectly uphold the machinery of a genocidal regime. Some within the church hierarchy have chosen the comfort of cooperation over the courage of conviction, prioritizing political positioning, financial incentives, and state approval over prophetic truth.

Let it also be known:

The Ambazonian struggle for self-determination is grounded in internationally recognized legal frameworks, including the African Charter, the UN Charter, and international humanitarian law. Our guiding principle is clear, we do not target religious institutions nor harm servants of God. The Biya regime has a history stained with the blood of murdered priests, pastors, and bishops, but we will never walk that dark path. Our Liberation Volunteers are instructed to uphold life, dignity, and the protection of all clergy, regardless of denomination.

We have consistently and unequivocally condemned kidnapping for ransom, and we do so again today. Whoever is holding Father Berinyuy must release him immediately and unconditionally. Our fight is not against the clergy, nor education, nor the church, it is against military occupation, systemic injustice, and the deliberate attempt to erase a people and their identity.

To the church, we say:

Your biblical mandate is to stand with the oppressed, defend the weak, and speak truth to power, not to collaborate with oppression. If the church has the moral strength to call for marches, let those marches be for peace and justice, for the release of innocent political prisoners, for truth, dialogue, and genuine reconciliation, not only when a cleric is involved.

We call on all clergy to live out their prophetic role. Do not be silent when your Christians are killed. Do not be quiet when children are burned alive. Do not close your eyes when the French Cameroun government commits crimes against humanity in Ambazonia.Let your voice be the voice of justice, not selective compassion.

Our message is clear:

We remain committed to a peaceful, lawful, and principled struggle for the freedom and dignity of our people. We will not tolerate crimes that stain our righteous cause, and we will not accept attempts to derail it through emotional manipulation, intimidation, or misinformation.

May truth prevail.May justice reign.May peace be built on the foundations of dignity, not silence.

For the Ambazonian People

Dabney Yerima                                                                                                                              

Vice President,                                                                                                                               

The Federal Republic of Ambazonia