On January 24, 2016, a soldier from the 126 Mechanised Infantry Battalion, BIM, Wum, in Menchum Division of the North West Region, stabbed to death a commercial motor bike rider after a dispute over a girl friend.

The battalion was only set up in July 2015 and is still in the process of settling down. Irked by the act, colleagues of the slain bike rider took to the streets, burning used car tyres and barricading roads. They ended up attacking barracks of the 126 Mechanised Infantry Battalion where the assailant soldier had taken refuge, setting it ablaze alongside vehicles and the armory.

In the following interview, the Senior Divisional Officer for Menchum, Emvoutou Bita Benoit William, talks about measures taken after the unfortunate incident. He also revisits the process of demarcation of the security perimeter around Lake Nyos to determine where those displaced by the August 21, 1986 gas disaster can eventually return and settle. In spite of the rugged topography and other particularities of the division, Bita Benoit William says government is doing everything to develop Menchum Division.