NITA BHALLA THREE murders and more than 20 arrests targeting LGBT+ people in Cameroon this month have raised fears of an upswing in homophobic persecution in the Central African country, rights campaigners and lawyers said yesterday. Same-sex relationships are illegal across much of Africa, but few countries are as assiduous in applying penalties as Cameroon, where gay sex is punishable with up to five years' imprisonment, according to LGBT+ organisations. Police have failed to record or investigate the Feb. 6 murder of a gay couple in their home in the capital, Yaounde, or the Feb. 22 killing of a gay…