Cameroon Holds Pastor, 4 Followers in Trafficking Case
CAMEROON · CRIME
Key Facts
- —The country Central African nation bordering Nigeria, with Yaoundé as its capital.
- —What happened Gendarmes arrested a Nigerian pastor and four followers on Tuesday, 6 October.
- —The allegations Kidnapping of minors, human trafficking and unlawful confinement, all alleged.
- —The background Gendarmes found 20 people in a Yaoundé basement on 6 September.
- —The US view The 2025 US trafficking report keeps Cameroon on Tier 2.
- —Still open No official arrest statement, court date or victim count published yet.
The arrest follows a month of raids on properties linked to his revival church, Mercy of God Ministry, in and around Yaoundé.
Gendarmes in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, arrested a 43-year-old Nigerian pastor on the evening of Tuesday, 6 October. He is suspected of kidnapping minors, human trafficking, and unlawful arrest and confinement, according to Cameroon Tribune, the state-owned daily.
The case reaches beyond Cameroon: the suspect is a foreign national, and Washington says Cameroon does not fully meet minimum anti-trafficking standards. Four followers described as his protectors and alleged accomplices were detained with him.
The Nigerian pastor founded Mercy of God Ministry, a revival church whose properties were raided repeatedly in September. Those operations found women, men and children inside, including 20 people in a single basement.
How the Arrest Unfolded
Acting on intelligence, gendarmes raided a house at Carrefour Mballa, near Abom, at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Five men were detained there, according to Cameroon Tribune and the Yaoundé news site Le Bled Parle.
Cameroon Tribune said the main suspect was found hiding in a room with his face covered. The paper said he moved only at night and used 15 mobile phones and 12 SIM cards to avoid detection.
The four other men, aged 31 to 46, are described as worshippers who acted as his protectors. A search of the house turned up 15 phones, SIM cards, two motorcycles, keys to two Toyota vehicles and a computer.
Le Bled Parle reported that all five were placed in police custody, known locally as garde à vue. It said any link between the seized items and the allegations has yet to be established.
On Wednesday evening, the news site Actu Cameroun also reported the Tuesday arrest of the Nigerian pastor and four others in Yaoundé.
A Case That Began in Essos
The affair surfaced on Wednesday, 2 September, in Essos, a neighbourhood of Yaoundé. Cameroon’s Ministry of Social Affairs said several minors were found in a house there that day, after an anonymous tip.
In a statement signed by the minister, Pauline Irène Nguene, the ministry said the children had allegedly been held by individuals. It said social services were caring for them and urged the public to report endangered children on the free hotline 1503.
Citing Cameroon Tribune, Le Bled Parle said police found 15 girls under 18 and two women in a barricaded compound. Officers had to force several entrances to get inside.
On Sunday, 6 September, gendarmes found 20 people in an earth-floored basement in Ngousso, another Yaoundé neighbourhood. They were ten women, eight men and two children aged six and seven, Le Bled Parle reported.
The basement had reportedly served as a place of worship for Mercy of God Ministry. In September, the site wrote that investigators were still checking whether the Essos and Ngousso cases were linked.
Cameroon Tribune now describes the pastor as the main suspect in what it calls the “bunkers” affair of Essos, Ngousso and Nkoabang. The paper called his arrest a turning point in a case that has unsettled the capital since early September.
What Investigators Found at Nkoabang
On Wednesday, 9 September, gendarmes searched a roughly one-hectare estate attributed to the pastor at Nkoabang, on the outskirts of Yaoundé. One hectare is nearly the size of two American football fields.
A deputy prosecutor attended, as did Colonel Joseph Désiré Nguélé, the Centre region’s gendarmerie commander, Le Bled Parle reported. Investigators found five vehicles, several hundred kilograms of food, working freezers, about 30 rooms and a pit about two metres deep.
The site stressed that no conclusion could yet be drawn from the pit, whose purpose was unknown. Ten days after that first search, investigators dug beneath a concrete slab on the estate and found a buried coffin.
It held a body in an advanced state of mummification, whose identity and cause of death have not been made public. At the time, Colonel Nguélé said gendarmerie units and border police had been alerted and Interpol notified, according to Le Bled Parle.
The church was not new to the authorities. In April 2020, the prefect of Mefou-et-Afamba department ordered its Nkoabang premises closed for operating without authorisation, Le Bled Parle recalled.
How Cameroon Handles Trafficking Cases
Cameroon’s 2011 anti-trafficking law sets prison terms of 10 to 20 years, according to the US State Department. Where a victim is 15 or younger, the range rises to 15 to 20 years.
Fines in those cases reach 10 million CFA francs (about US$17,100). Conversions use a market rate of 585.82 CFA francs per US$1 on 8 October 2026.
Enforcement has been thin. The State Department’s 2025 report counted 146 trafficking investigations in its latest reporting year, down from 392 in 2023, and no convictions.
Prosecutions began against eight alleged traffickers, and the report noted continuing concerns about official complicity. It also cited media accounts of a joint operation with Nigeria that led to at least 20 arrests of suspected traffickers.
What It Means for US Readers
The US State Department kept Cameroon on Tier 2 in its 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report. That means the government does not fully meet minimum standards but is making significant efforts.
The ranking carries weight in Washington. Under US law, governments on the lowest tier, Tier 3, may face restrictions on non-humanitarian, non-trade US assistance.
The same report lists the United States among destinations where traffickers exploit Cameroonians, alongside the Middle East and Europe. Nothing reported so far links this case to the United States or to US citizens.
What Is Not Known
No statement on the arrest from the gendarmerie or the prosecutor had been published on the gendarmerie’s website by Thursday morning. The formal charges, a court date and whether the suspect has a lawyer have not been reported.
Officials have not said how many people they consider victims, or whether anyone was moved across borders. It is also unclear whether the Essos compound is formally part of the same file.
The identity of the person buried at Nkoabang and the cause of death remain unknown. Nigerian authorities have not commented publicly on the arrest, as far as reported.
What Comes Next
Cameroon Tribune said the five will go before the state prosecutor in Yaoundé, who decides how the case proceeds. Investigators still have to identify the body found at Nkoabang and examine the seized phones and vehicles.
The arrest is not a conviction. All five are presumed innocent unless a court finds otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mercy of God Ministry?
It is a revival church founded by the Nigerian pastor now in custody, with properties in and around the Cameroonian capital. Local media reported that authorities closed its Nkoabang premises in 2020 for operating without authorisation.
Has the pastor been charged or convicted?
He has been arrested and is suspected of kidnapping minors, human trafficking and unlawful confinement, according to Cameroon Tribune. He has not been convicted and is presumed innocent.
What was found during the September raids?
Police found minors in a barricaded house in Essos on 2 September. Gendarmes found 20 people in a Ngousso basement on 6 September, and a body was later found buried at Nkoabang.
How does the US rate Cameroon on human trafficking?
The State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report placed Cameroon on Tier 2. It recorded fewer investigations than the year before and no trafficking convictions.
What penalties does Cameroon’s trafficking law set?
The 2011 law sets 10 to 20 years in prison, or 15 to 20 years where a victim is 15 or younger. Fines in those cases can reach 10 million CFA francs, about US$17,100.
Sources: Cameroon Tribune, arrest report; Le Bled Parle, 7 October; Le Bled Parle on the Ministry of Social Affairs statement; Le Bled Parle, Ngousso; Le Bled Parle, Nkoabang search; Le Bled Parle, Nkoabang discovery; Actu Cameroun; US State Department, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Cameroon; US State Department, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report (all accessed 8 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief