Martin was a student at a university in Cameroon. He and others, including lawyers and teachers, were marching and protesting against the government because of conditions at the school. Classes and exams were in French, but he and other students were from an English-speaking section of Cameroon. 

At the protest, the police shot and killed one of Martin’s friends and chased after him. The police arrested him and threatened to kill him or take him to prison. They accused Martin of being a leader because he carried a sign – a sign that said that the government should help the students. Multiple police officers beat, kicked, slapped, and hit him with guns leaving scars on his back. He was jailed for two days, without food or water, and beaten a total of four times.

When asked how he escaped, Martin said: “In the cell you have to use a bucket for the bathroom, and in the morning you have to go and throw the waste outside. In the morning, on the second day, they removed the handcuffs from my legs and arms, and then when they were taking me out to throw out the waste, the policeman behind me was on the phone and got distracted so I ran into the bush and kept running. And then I was just sleeping on the streets.” He couldn’t return home because the police were there looking for him.

Several weeks later, he was arrested again. The policeman slapped him and said he would be sent to jail and wouldn’t come out alive. As he was being transported in the police car, he jumped out and ran away. He lived on the streets for a while before getting to Nigeria.  

Seeking asylum in the United States, he established a credible fear of persecution. Before he was able to reunite and live with his aunt in the United States, he was detained by US immigration authorities for almost three years before he was finally released.