[1] Recruited by a man who went by the nom de guerre "General Divine",[2] Ivo Mbah was one of the first Ambazonia Defence Forces members,[3] and was popular among his fellow separatists.

[4] His followers reportedly believed that he possessed "mystical powers", and Mbah worked with these beliefs, stating in propaganda videos that "no man born of a woman could kill him".

[5] Other sources have stated that Mbah was killed by a local anti-separatist vigilante group[3] or by a rival separatist force.

However, the assassination was not a complete success story for the Cameroonian government; the plan had been for Ivo to be captured alive, and use him for intelligence gathering.

Samuel Ikome Sako, Acting President of the Interim Government of Ambazonia, wrote that he personally admired Ivo for his bravery, and that his death was a great loss to the nation.