Basile Atangana Kouna, Cameroon’s former Water and Energy Minister was allegedly arrested in Nigeria and ‘bundled’ to Yaounde on Thursday, to answer corruption claims.
Atangana Kouna who was removed from his ministerial position during President Paul Biya’s March 2 cabinet reshuffle, had already been ordered the previous month not to leave the country.
According to news reports, the former minister arrived at the international airport in the capital Yaounde at 6:20 pm (1720 GMT) escorted by police officers.
It is not clear what charges Atangana Kouna was facing, but there was speculation on Thursday that he was arrested as part of an anti-corruption drive known as Operation Sparrowhawk.
Other former top government officials like Louis Max Ohandja, former secretary of state to the Minister of Public Works, in charge of roads, Jean William Sollo, former boss of a public corporation and Bruno Bekolo Ebe, former rector of the University of Douala, were placed on Wednesday evening in pre-trial detention in Kondengui, the central prison of Yaoundé.
