Francisco Engono Micue and Jose Ramon Obama were arrested and tortured on 31 August 1993, reportedly because of their family ties with Father Jose Luis Engono, a Roman Catholic priest and a known government critic who is believed to have gone into hiding to evade arrest. Francisco Engono Micue, a 51-year-old official in the traffic division of the Bata municipal council is the father of Jose Luis Engono; Jose Ramon Obama is Francisco Engono Micue’s cousin. They were arrested by members of the security police, popularly known as “ninjas”, who beat them on their arrest. There is concern for their safety in view of recent deaths in custody as a result of torture both in Malabo and Rio Muni.
