Cameroon's minister of communications says 47 suspected separatists and leaders of a group that declared the independence of English-speaking regions have been extradited from Nigeria.
Issa Tchiroma Bakary said those extradited arrived in Cameroon on Monday. He said among them were Julius Ayuk Tabe, who in October proclaimed himself the president of Ambazonia. Tabe and nine others were arrested in Abuja, Nigeria, in January.
Bakary said the others arrested in Nigeria and extradited were being trained to return to Cameroon and fight.
Cameroon has areas that were colonies of France and Britain until the early 1960s. The West African country's English-speaking population started protests in 2016 charging discrimination by the majority French-speaking population, and calling for greater autonomy of its northwest and southwest regions. Separatists later called for independence.