Meme Division: Soldiers send notorious Amba ‘General’ Lucifer, to ‘hell’.

The separatist warlord, who had been wreaking havoc in communities across Meme Division, was neutralised alongside eight other fighters ranking as pseudo-Generals.

The fighters met their waterloo Thursday October 24, 2024. This was during a raid carried out by soldiers from the Sixth Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR Region, with headquarters in Mambanda, Kumba.

The soldiers are said to have stormed Bombanda, a small settlement area in Mbonge Subdivision, in search of the Amba fighters.

During the raid, separatist kingpin, Ndiba Lenya Clifford aka 'General’ Lucifer, and eight others were killed.

We gathered that the soldiers had stormed the hideout of the fighters, following repeated complaints from the population, especially traders in the cocoa sector, who were being harassed, attacked and sometimes killed by the separatist fighters.

The Amba fighters killed during the raid included, 'General’ Lucifer, ‘General’ Rassman, 'General’ Don Plus, ‘General’ Police, 'Colonel’ Viper, 'Colonel Doze' and ‘Commandant’ Black.

Going by the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO for Meme, Ntou'ou Ndong Chamberlin, nearly 13 weapons were recovered, including military uniforms and some improvised explosive devices, amongst others.

Speaking in Kumba, the SDO congratulated the security forces for the successful operation, while also commending the fruitful collaboration between the population and the military, which he said is already yielding fruits.

The civil administrator also called for more collaboration between the population and the military to free Meme Division of separatist attacks.

The population of Bole, Bova, Boa, NkumuNkumu, Bombele, Bombanda, Bai Panya and Pete Bakundu, have meanwhile, heaved a sigh of relief following the raid. 

Dibonge Ernest, a cocoa farmer in the area, told a Kumba-based local radio station that he was able to visit his farm for the first time in eight years, since the crisis began, thanks to the raid.

Another local who didn't want to be named, said his family lost their entire properties to the separatist fighters, just “because we hail from the West Region. We were chased away from our house, farms…”

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3273 of Monday October 28, 2024