The death and the burial of little Ali Youssef in mysterious circumstances splashes the lamido Ibrahim El Rachidine, accused by the populations of being the sponsor. The administrative authorities took up the case and demanded the exhumation of the young man for investigation purposes.
It is a scenario worthy of Hollywood films which has just taken place in Garoua in the North region on January 1, 2022. At the center of the drama, the city’s brand new lamido, El Rachidine, who is increasingly becoming famous for bewildering irresponsibility, even extreme gangsterism. Despicable acts whose disastrous consequences have just cost the life of a young boy Aliou Youssef, only 16 years old in Garoua.
Alerted by his sister and intervening with great reinforcement in order to straighten the young boy, son of his elder half-sister Mairamou living in Laindé, described as stubborn, the lamido will use draconian methods. The story goes that when Mrs. Mairamou, the child’s mother, asks her sleeping son to respond to his uncle the Lamido’s summons, the son refuses and this is how the Lamido sends his henchmen and Dougourous to take it by force at Laindé.
El Rachidine will then lock the young student in the lamidat, depriving him of school, while he holds the probation. Instead, it is beating that will have the right to the means of whipping and water, like a prisoner of war who is interrogated in order to obtain information deemed state secrets. An inhuman treatment of incredible brutality which will cost the life of the young man after 24 hours, of torture of an unsuspected intensity.
Taken by panic, the lamido will carry out the mortuary wash and ask to bring the remains back to Laindé at his family and invite the local imams with the idea of burying the deceased just after the 5 am prayer. However, tradition requires waiting for sunrise before performing this kind of ritual. Unfortunately the information will leak, certainly by someone visibly unable to support this sordid machination. This is how the intelligence services will set in motion, the remains having already been buried at 7 am in the cemetery of Djamboutou.
Very quickly the governor of the North region will be questioned by Yaoundé on the subject. He will ask the SDO to verify the facts on the ground, the city prosecutor accompanied by the SDO of Benoué and law enforcement services, will also be mobilized for the descent and the body will be exhumed around 4 p.m. and brought back to the mortuary. A painful and unbearable moment for the public present because the lifeless body of the young man presented tears, blood had flowed from the nostrils, ears etc. in short, there was no longer any need for an autopsy, as the physical abuse spoke for itself.
An investigation has been opened in order to shed light on this tragedy which strikes fear over the entire population of Garoua and all those who were present at this burial ceremony on the sly will be arrested and questioned. The lamidat will therefore have to be sealed and King El Rachiddine son of *the late Yerima Souleymanou*, of whom for reasons that we will come back to in our next articles) will be obliged to take up residence in his personal residence or for his own safety at the Legion of the Garoua Gendarmerie.
Outraged and disillusioned by this behavior unworthy of a unifier, the populations intend to storm the residence of the Lamido in order to hold him to account.
The latest news, it is rumored that the Lamido of Garoua on the instructions of the public prosecutor would have been apprehended by the elements of the gendarmerie and would be in the hands of the police at the Legion since 05:30 pm.
According to the testimonies collected, the last words of his son dragged by force were to say goodbye to his mother, as if he foresaw his imminent death, because it was not the first time that he suffered the wrath of his uncle, long before he even acceded to the throne. And for good reason, the Lamido harbored an unparalleled unhealthy jealousy against this brilliant and very intelligent nephew who never missed an opportunity to ask him trick questions, always centered on general knowledge. At 16, the boy has just passed his probatoire with flying colors.
Unfortunately, poor Mairamou will never see her dear and tender Papy again, as she affectionately called him. She alerted the whole Republic by accusing the Lamido of having killed her son.