Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o, former minister of defense who also moonlighted as Minister of State for Transport, was detained on Tuesday after more than eight hours of hearings at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde. The former Biya acolyte and baron of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate was questioned for the third time on several files and has spent his first night in police drag net.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that the former minister delegate at the presidency in charge of defense, and some of his family relatives, including his wife Bernadette Minla Nkoulou, his henchmen, Mbangue Maxime Leonard former technical advisor at the Ministry of Defense, the so-called prominent banker Victor Emmanuel Menye Assistant General Manger of the Cameroon Bank for Corporation (Scb), Captain Atangana Alphonse former Director of Budget and Equipment, Colonel Fouda Jean Jacques, former Director of Materials and Military Hardware at the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant-Colonel Mboutou Ele Ghislain Joel, former military attaché at the Cameroon embassy in Morocco, were all at the Tuesday’s hearing.

The concerned parties were grilled over alleged financial misappropriation and corruption concerning a lucrative contract on military surveillance of the Cameroonian coastlines and the acquisition of military equipment.

The Special Military Court investigators also questioned the Beti Ewondo criminal gang about the acquisition of military equipment signed between the Cameroon government represented at the time by Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o, Minister of Defense and a company identified as Magforce. These numerous files were opened as part of an anti corruption operation by the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime.

Our Yaounde City reporter revealed that Edgard Alain Mebe, Mbangue Maxime, Mbutou Ghislain Victor, Menye Emmanuel were all remanded in custody. The others still have to go through further judicial interrogation.  Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o like President Paul Biya hails from the South region. The similarities end there.

He has been a Senior Divisional Officer, director of the civil cabinet at the presidency of the Republic, General Delegate for National Security, Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic, in charge of Defense (2009-2015) and Minister of Transport from October 2015 to March 2018. He was sometimes painted as one of President Biya’s likely dolphins.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai