Prof. Yanou reportedly dead

Michael Akomaye Yanou, the lone Professor of law at the Department of Law in the University of Buea is dead.

Reports have it that the varsity lecturer who was also Director in charge of Conflict Resolution and Dialogue at the Ministry of Higher Education was “killed”, Tuesday, January 27, in a car accident along Douala-Yaoundé highway in Edea.

The Journal learnt that Yanou was on his way to Yaoundé from Buea after delivering lectures at UB.

Unconfirmed sources told The Journal that prior to this, he was observed being trailed by a police officer in an unmarked car on Monday January 26 as he drove from Molyko towards Muea.

The circumstances surrounding Yanou’s death are very mysterious and suspicious. We gathered that the first attempt of death upon his life was a week earlier – precisely on January 22 on his way home to Buea from Yaounde, he narrowly missed an accident.

“He was taken to the Muea police unit on that Tuesday (of the missed accident) together with his wife. The commissioner recognised him and let the couple go. Being late, the couple travelled to Douala to return with a second car to Buea. Prof Yanou would now only take off for Yaoundé this Tuesday morning (January 27), with his driver to have this second accident, the fatal accident, still in Edea, barely three days after he had the first one in the same locality. What a coincidence?” a source close to the family told the Cameroon Journal.

Unfortunately, this second accident of January 27, took his life. His driver is reported to have survived it.

Shock waves swept through the University of Buea when news of Yanou’s death was broken. Members of UB’s Chapter of the National Union of Teachers of Higher Education (SYNES-UB) were particularly saddened given that he was the immediate past president of the chapter.

As circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery, lawyers at his chambers in Buea, family members, friends and colleagues brought in his corpse late that Tuesday night. The remains are presently at the Buea Regional Hospital Mortuary.

Prior to his appointment in the University of Buea, he was a lecturer in the faculties of law in the Universities of Uyo and Calabar in Nigeria respectively.

Besides holding a PhD from Rhodes University, South Africa, he was a fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge University. Yanou was also a practicing advocate of the Supreme Courts of Cameroon and Nigeria and had published several articles in learned journals.