BY FRED ITUA, JUST BACK FROM EKPOMA
Whenever folks gather to talk about killing fields in Nigeria,
Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states easily come to mind. In
recent past, Jos, the Plateau State capital assumed the
inglorious position as the most notorious city to live in
Nigeria. Scores of deaths were recorded every day. A city
once acclaimed to be calm and peaceful became Nigeria’s
version of Iraq and Afghanistan. For now, the killings appear
to have abated. Unknown to many, there is a town called
Ekpoma, located in Edo State, South-south Nigeria where
there is a raging war of a kind. Those engaged in this
bloodbath are not terrorists or militants; they are students,
farmers and artisans in the community. For keen observers
who have followed the blood orgy, cultism in the historic
town has been taken too far.
Ekpoma town is the second most popular city in Edo State,
after Benin City, the state capital. It has an area of 502 km²
and a population of 125,842, according to the 2006
census. The popular Ambrose Alli University (AAU) is
situated in the town. It also boasts of notable Nigerians and
heavyweight politicians. The main language spoken by
indigenes is Esan. Pidgin is equally very popular and has
become the lingua franca in the town. The town
accommodates strangers from every part of the country
and they live happily together in peace.
However, that peace has come under severe threats by
sons of anarchy who have turned the place to a war zone.
The endless cult clashes have resulted in the death of
hundreds of students and locals. The situation has so
degenerated that the community becomes a ghost town
after 8pm every day, for fear of being raped, robbed,
murdered or attacked by cultists. In Ekpoma, everyone now
sleeps with one eye wide open.
The genesis
Violent clashes between rival cult groups in Ekpoma is as
old as the university in the town, AAU. Until the mid 1990s
when students of the university had a running battle with
the military and scores of students were killed, cultism was
regarded as something reserved for the misfits of the
society. After the military massacre that claimed over 100
lives of students, various cult groups embarked on massive
membership drive. Freshmen were initiated, while old
students were sometimes blackmailed to enlist. Since then,
the university community and the entire Ekpoma town has
lost its peace.
Since the late 1990s, there has not been any semester that
students are not massacred or engaged in inter-cult battle.
At some point, some of the killings happened within the
university campus. Vice chancellors and deans of students
at different times, tried endlessly to mediate. Sometimes,
they succeeded; at other times, they failed. During those
mediation meetings, the vice chancellors, the dean of
students, the police DPO and leaders of various leaders of
the cult groups stayed up through the nights. A popular
spot located opposite the famous Igbinedion Hostel inside
the university campus, was the meeting point.
In its drive to stem the endless killings back then, the
university authority backed the formation of Anti-Cult
Campaign Organisation of Nigeria (ACCON). In its first few
years, the group succeeded in waging coordinated war
against cult-related activities in the university. Things,
however, changed when some daredevil cult members
launched an early morning attack on the base of ACCON in
2003 and killed eight of its members. Thereafter, cultists
infiltrated the group and weakened its structure. Since then,
it has lost its valour and it has been unable to tackle
cultism in the university. Observers and students believe the
anti-cult group is now being run by cultists. In which
instance, the devil thrives unchecked.
The new trend
In Ekpoma, it is difficult to tell who is a cultist. The whole
town has become a tapestry of cultists. Membership of cult
groups is no longer a special privilege enjoyed by students
of AAU. Locals are the new bosses. Mechanics, farmers,
electricians, okada riders and other artisans/technicians
have enlisted and the war is raging. A former student of the
university, Ehichioya (last name withheld), who runs a barber
shop in the town sat down with our correspondent and
gave graphical details of how cultism has eaten deep into
every fabric of life in Ekpoma. He equally spoke on series
of coordinated killings in the area and how police appear to
have been compromised.
“In Ekpoma, it is a crime to be law-abiding”, he began. “I
have spent all my life in this town. I am in my early 30s, so
I can tell you I understand how this town works. I am very
scared and many too in this town are scared. There is too
much lawlessness going on here and those that should
ensure there is peace are doing nothing. It is so bad that
parents can no longer tell their children what to do. It might
not be as bad as Boko Haram in the North, but we are in
real trouble.
“In the past, only few students were members of popular
cult groups. I remember then as a kid how students used
to block the express lane when they were protesting. I also
remember how cult members used to clash and kill them­
selves. But the school authority was quick to intervene then.
Things really got bad when a certain vice chancellor took
over in 2004. He destroyed students union activism and
started fraternising with cult members and holding meetings
with them. That action gave some sort of backing to those
boys. Because they knew they were not going to be
arrested, they started recruiting and initiating more
members. This new relationship between cult members and
the vice chancellor gave rise to cult activities.
“Before you knew it, cult boys started fighting inside the
campus. Soon, they took over the Students’ Union Gov­
ernment (SUG). They started insisting on sponsoring their
members that will form part of SUG. Before you could say
jack, SUG officials started joining cult groups. It became an
unwritten rule that you must belong to a known cult group
before you could be elected as president of SUG. As I
speak, that rule is still there. Most SUG members in AAU
are cult members and the current vice chancellor is
helpless.”
Aluya spoke further: “Now, it is different. What we have in
Ekpoma is now street cultism. All sort of people are joining
cult groups. Today, mechanics are even joining cult groups.
Sometimes, when you take your car to a local mechanic in
Ekpoma, you see something very strange. When a
mechanic goes under your car, you see a gun attached to
his trousers. He openly wears his band or cap which
displays the cult group he belongs to. That is how far they
have taken cultism in Ekpoma. Okada men threaten you
and openly tell you that they belong to a cult group and
nothing will happen to them.
“Secondary school students have started joining cults now.
Some carry guns to school and this is very common in
public schools. So, by the time these boys get to the univer­
sity, cultism becomes a child’s play to them. They see cult­
ism as a lucrative venture and many young people are lured
to join. Some of them have become armed robbers. They
lay siege along the highway and even attack private homes
at night. Go to Iruekpen, Ujemen, Eguare, Ihumudumu and
all small towns and villages in Ekpoma. It is the same
story. Cultism has gone to the streets.”
There is a particular hotel in Ujemen owned by a former
chairman of the local government. That hotel is the new
den of robbers in Ekpoma. Cult wars start and end in that
hotel. Only on Christmas day, some group of cult boys
stabbed a 22-year-old boy to death. Prior to that ugly
incident, a similar case was reported of how another young
man was shot dead in the same hotel.
Armed robbery attacks in Ekpoma
In 2011, some dare-devil robbers, suspected to be stu­
dents of AAU, launched a daylight attack in one of the new
generation banks. Lives were wasted and millions of Naira
carted away. According to eyewitnesses, the robbers spent
over two hours and police officers in the area were chased
away. “It was a gory experience and something I wish I
could erase from my memory. What really surprised me on
that fateful day was how a young lady mounted the main
road and chased policemen away,” one of the eyewitnesses
recalled.
During that deadly attack that changed a lot of things in the
town, the assailants stormed the town with a juju man and
dynamites. The entrance to the building was bombed and
sporadic gunshots were fired. There were series of other
high-profile bank robberies in the town within the period.
Angered by the refusal of Edo State government to act swift­
ly, all the commercial banks in the town closed down opera­
tions for over six months. Residents were forced to carry
out their bank transactions in Benin City, Uromi or Auchi.
After series of pleas and interventions from stakeholders,
banks in the area reopened, but only work half day for fear
of being attacked again by robbers.
“I remember that day those robbers came to Ekpoma. It
was like a war situation. A girl operating a salon opposite
the bank was killed by a stray bullet. Policemen were
chased way. Even military guys were scared to engage the
robbers. For over two hours, they operated freely and held
the town hostage. Before that major robbery, the town had
witnessed other robbery attacks. Banks were always
targeted and people were even scared to go to the banks.
The sad thing is that, we all know how this thing started and
since everyone has been compromised, no one can bring
an end to this madness,” Aluya spoke briefly on robbery
attacks in the town.
There is another fear silently expressed by residents and
natives of the town as the country prepares for the general
elections. It is an established fact that elections in Ekpoma
are among the most violent in the country. Snatching of bal­
lot boxes and harassment of voters are common
occurrences in the area. With the proliferation of arms in the
town and the secret backing of some candidates by known
cult groups, violence might break out in Ekpoma and spill
over to other neighbouring towns and villages.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/edo-inside-story-of-killings-inter-cult-clashes-in-ekpoma-2/

Lalasticlala

Dis Benin sef, from aeroplaning to cult clashing. Dis mata sef

OK I don hear......*turns back 2 my guyton*....mtcheew wu cult help

Kkkkk