The Lamido of Garoua, Ibrahim El Rachidine has been charged with homicide in the case linked to the death of one of his nephew Ali Youssouf.
The mercury has not yet come down in the case of the murder of the young Ali Youssef, who died on the night of January 31 to February 1 at the Garoua’s lamidat in circumstances not yet elucidated. After the administrative authorities took up the case, demanding the exhumation of the remains of the urchin, investigations are continuing, and the case has been brought to justice.
The daily Le Jour of this Wednesday, February 9, 2022 reveals that the main suspects in this case have been brought before the Garoua Military Tribunal, in this case the Lamido, Ibrahim El Rachidine, his older sister and mother of the young man, three members of the Faadah, as well as two soldiers in the service of the lamido.
“After hearing the mother of young Ali Youssouf and three members of the Faadah and two soldiers, the investigators referred the defendants to the Military Court. It appears from the preliminary investigations and the statements of the respondents that all carried out the instructions of the lamido of Garoua. The eldest sister of the lamido of Garoua, mother of Ali Youssouf is accused of complicity in murder and degrading treatment”, writes the newspaper of Haman Mana.
Ibrahim El Rachidine is suspected of being linked to the death of Ali Youssouf, a young man killed on January 31 on the property of the lamido and buried the next day in a cemetery in the city. On February 3, the victim’s body was exhumed for autopsy after several testimonies had reported torture and abuse. On the 4th, when the angry crowd threatened to lynch the lamido, the security forces had taken him from his residence to take him to the premises of the Garoua gendarmerie to hear him.
The autopsy quickly confirmed the acts of torture and the lamido, a gendarmerie officer with a career in military security, was formally charged with torture and homicide. Six other people were brought to justice, including two soldiers working for Ibrahim El Rachidine.
In his defense, he had initially declared that the tragedy had occurred while his close guard was trying to control the young man who was, according to him, under the influence of drugs.
Ibrahim El Rachidine was elected lamido last May following the death of Alim Hayatou, who was also Secretary of State to the Minister of Health.