Tragedies hit Fako, Moungo Divisions!.

It was reported to have been staged by a group of armed men who later identified themselves as separatist fighters associated with the crisis in the two English-speaking Regions.

The armed group, in the process of the ambush, is said to have killed three soldiers. The victims of the attack have been identified in several media reports as; Private First Class Abienza Joseph, Sergeant Ateba Olanguena and Chief Corporal Betkemo Banibou.

The trio was said to be part of a squad on patrol from the 23rd Motorised Infantry Battalion in Loum, still in Moungo Division. The community wherein the soldiers were ambushed is said to be located on the border with the restive South West Region.

Hours after the incident, a band of gun-wielding youngsters who identified themselves as belonging to the Fako/Meme Unity Warriors, released clips on social media, claiming responsibility for the attack.

In the amateur video, the gun-wielding individuals also claimed they collected guns, ammunitions and other military gear from the ambushed soldiers.

The military high command had not commented on Wednesday’s incident as we went to press last night.

In the video, the gunmen who insisted on their identities as separatist fighters, said they staged the ambush in protest of the killing of three civilians in Ekona, Fako Division of the South West Region a few days back.

Ekona at heart of recent killings

Recall that on Monday, September 21, 2026, three civilians were shot to death in the locality of Ekona, Fako Division. In the same locality, someone used a gun to destroy a transformer, resulting in prolonged power outage.

Traditional ruler cum soldier, John Eko Ewume, widely known as Moja Moja, was accused of having committed the act. Ewume later staged a live broadcast on social media, denying the accusation.

On Saturday, September 12, 2026, gunmen opened fire on a car in Ekona on the Kumba-Buea stretch killing the driver and other persons on board. Metres away, a corpse was also found, said to be that of the gunmen who had opened fire on the car.

The Fako/Meme Unity Warriors is a name associated with a known armed group within the armed conflict in the English-speaking Regions. It has for years claimed to have a strong hold on Meme and Fako Divisions of the South West Region. 

Religious pilgrimage at sea turns sour

The other tragedy of Wednesday involved a group of mostly students who are said to have embarked on a religious pilgrimage on an Island off the coast of Mudeka, Tiko Subdivision, Fako Division of the South West Region.

In a release same day, the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Fako, Viang Engelbert Mekala, disclosed that the incident occurred in the night of Tuesday September 22, breaking Wednesday, September 23. 

The administrator stated that the “accident involved a motorised board canoe, carrying members of a church, who were travelling to a place for prayers, located on an island off the Atlantic Ocean”.

Mekala wrote that the vessel capsised after leaving the shore, noting that “the passengers on board subsequently drowned”. The administrator also stated that the canoe was “apparently” old and in bad shape.

He put the number of deaths at five persons, including four girls and a boy. The SDO also wrote that that the corpses were taken to the mortuary of the Tiko District Hospital.

Seven other persons injured in the canoe crash, the SDO stated in his release, are being treated at the Mbingo Annex Hospital in Mutengene.

He directed families of those involved in the accident to contact officials of the hospital and mortuary for necessary formalities.

Investigations opened

The SDO equally noted that the State Prosecutor for Tiko has opened investigations into the cause of the canoe accident. 

The investigations, he opined in the public statement, is also seeking to know the reason for “the religious pilgrimage organised at sea”.

In the meantime, unofficial reports have said the persons involved in the misfortune were fellowshipping at the Buea-based Ark of God Covenant Ministry of renowned preacher, Apostle John Chi. The church is yet to communicate on the misfortune. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3920 of Friday September 25, 2026