Bamenda-based journalist and documentary‚ filmmaker Hans Achomba has been missing since November 5, 2025, after being abducted by state security agents from his home. His family reported him missing when he failed to return after being questioned by police over his reporting and social media posts related to the October 12 presidential election.
According to sources, Achomba was targeted for his critical reporting and commentary on the Biya regime. During the three-hour interrogation, security agents threatened him, stating they were monitoring his Facebook posts and humanitarian work, and told him he would “definitely go back to prison”. His passport and phone were seized, and he was bundled into a car and taken to an unknown location.
This is not the first time Achomba has faced persecution for his work. In 2017, he was arrested and detained for nine months for covering the Anglophone crisis. At that he was interviewing a bike rider, why was he out on ghost town. His Son was born that year when he was “intarcerated” and is now wondering where his father is. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had condemned his arbitrary arrest, calling it politically motivated and unjust. The film makers family is growing increasingly concerned for his safety, with his wife describing their children as “inconsolable” and constantly asking about their father’s whereabouts.
The CPJ, along with 19 other press freedom and human rights organizations, has issued a joint statement demanding that the Cameroonian government launch an immediate investigation and disclose Achomba’s whereabouts. These groups regard Achomba’s disappearance as a pattern of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions under the Biya regime .
In their statement, the organizations stated, “We call on the police to investigate the matter and ascertain his whereabouts swiftly,” . These organizations include,CPJ, AFEX, BAKE Kenya, the International Press Institute, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights .
