Corpse Discovery of a Man in his 40s in Bamenda Under Suspicious Circumstances is True

Ngufack Ntemgwa

September 7, 2023

Claim: A social media post reported a corpse discovery. The man was in his 40s and near Azire New Church, Bamenda. Bullets, a chain on his leg, and blue clothing were found.

Verdict: Correct, there are verified images which prove the authenticity of this claim.

Methodology

This claim could incite violence and hatred, so I decided to fact-check it. The team examined the original post by Laarry’s News Room, then Cameroon News Agency (CNA) and others. Cameroon check reached out to some Facebook posters about the event. I confirmed the deceased’s identity with his image. I sought official sources and experts on Bamenda.

Social media posts reported a suspicious killing. The man was in his 40s and had a chain and bullets near him. The post by Cameroon News Agency (CNA) on Facebook received 507 reactions, 232 comments, and 10 shares.

Several news sources on Facebook and a website source identified the deceased as Nou Houila Calvin, a native of Mbouda in the West region who resided in Ngomgham-Bamenda, a few hours after the incident. To verify the information, I used the Facebook search tool platform WhoPostedWhat to search posts published on the 20th – 23rd of July and using the keywords ‘corpse’, ‘Bamenda’, ‘Azire new church’ ‘man in his 40s’ and ‘suspicious circumstances’. Among the results we got from the research, we found posts from Vivian Lemfon, Valeri Teffo, and MimiMefoInfo. The post also mentioned that he owned a barbershop.

Valeri Teffo verified the identity of the deceased through the images posted online and a comparative analysis of the corpse and shared the link to the deceased’s Facebook in one of his numerous Facebook posts. I also used a social media search tool called “WhoPostedWhat” to find all the posts about the incident on Facebook, which included posts from bloggers and ‘friends’ confirming his identity and expressing their condolences.

Conspiracies

Several conspiracies have emerged about the deceased. The conspiracy claims that Ambazonian separatist fighters targeted the man because of his region of origin. The evidence cited for this claim is a comment from a separatist account replying to another comment. Joseph Ebot Atango commented on a post about the corpse uploaded by Nfor Ibrahimam. The comment reads, “This government should stop pampering these AMBA THUGS IN BAMENDA.” Africa Thomas replied to the comment, which reads, “Joseph Ebot Atango frogs wunna go yeah peppe for our land eye an eye tooth for tooth.” Based on my research, I conclude that the claim, a man was killed by separatist fighters in Bamenda because of his region of origin is unsubstantiated as there is no official confirmation or credible evidence to support it.

Furthermore, the claim mentions the killing of 10 individuals at Nacho junction, suggesting a potential connection between the incidents. However, the evidence provided does not establish a direct link between the two events. Without further information or official confirmation, it cannot be concluded that these incidents are directly related.

Evidence Assessment

I contacted some of the posters about the incident, including those who claimed that separatist fighters killed him because of his region of origin and those who linked the death to the 10 killings prior in the town. I reached out for more information and evidence to support their claims via Facebook Messenger. However, none of them could provide any credible or verifiable evidence to back up their claims.

Nonetheless, the evidence provided supports the claim that the corpse discovery of a man in his 40s around Azire New Church in Bamenda, North West region was Nou Houila Calvin. The description of the man’s appearance, including his clothing and the presence of bullets and a chain, aligns with the claim. The evidence provided includes multiple sources on social media and confirmation from individuals named Emmanuel Ndzenyuy and Vivian Lemfon. These are close sources of the deceased. There is also picture evidence to support the claim.

Conclusion

It is important to emphasise that the motive behind the killing and any connections to other incidents remain unverified and require additional investigation. It is important to rely on verified and authoritative sources to obtain accurate information about such incidents. The corpse discovery of a man in his 40s found beside Azire New Church is correct and verified.