A federal grand jury indicted two Minnesota men on charges of helping orchestrate kidnappings, bombings, and attacks in their native Cameroon.

Benedict Nwana Kuah, 51, of Woodbury, and Pascal Kikishy Wongbi, 52, of Ramsey, is charged with eight counts of ordering “combatants” in the Republic of Cameroon to bomb, kidnap, and kill civilians and government officials as part of a broader plan to secede the country’s northwest and southwest regions to create a new country called “Ambazonia,” according to the indictment.

According to the indictment, the suspects held leadership positions in the self-styled Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF), a separatist militia seeking independence from Cameroon. Together, they allegedly used their positions to raise funds and finance arms purchases, and directed their accomplices in Cameroon to kidnap, bomb, and assassinate civilians, government officials, and members of the security forces in order to intimidate the civilian population and force the Cameroonian government to recognize their legitimacy.

“The defendants are accused of using the United States as a base of operations to finance and direct kidnappings, bombings, and assassinations in Cameroon,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Their alleged conduct caused death, terror, and suffering among innocent civilians. The Criminal Division is committed to holding accountable those who seek refuge in the United States while spreading violence abroad.”

According to the investigation, beginning in 2017, the two men allegedly sent thousands of dollars to accomplices in Cameroon for the purchase of weapons and explosives, directing attacks that caused the death, injury, or kidnapping of civilians, according to the indictment. In 2022, combatants kidnapped a government official and released propaganda videos.

In 2023,Kuah allegedly helped plan an IED attack against a regional governor and financed a bombing at the Mount Cameroon Race for Hope that injured 19 people. That same year, a commander appointed by Kuah was charged with killing two unarmed civilians in a market square, while Wongbi appeared in a propaganda video making threats. In 2024, Kuah allegedly approved the financing and operational plan for a Youth Day attack that killed a 15-year-old girl and injured dozens of other children. The indictment also alleges that Kuah and Wongbi raised money online to support their operations, including campaigns called “The Takeover Fund” and “Operation 200AKs,” which solicited donations for AK-47 rifles and explosives. If convicted, the men face a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison.