http://odili.net/news/source/2012/jan/7/827.html

Dreaded cultists invade major towns in Ogun

by Ademola Olonilua

There is an indication that residents of major towns in Ogun State, such as Ijebu-Ode, Ago-Iwoye and Sagamu, no longer sleep with both eyes shut as a result of the activities of members of secret cults.


Ogun CP, Nicholas Nkemdeme

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CRIME DIGEST investigations show that most natives of these towns live in constant dread of these cultists, whose activities assumed an alarming dimension in 2011 and resulted in the deaths of innocent and law-abiding citizens.

During Christmas, a palpable atmosphere overhung parts of Ijebu-Ode, particularly in Alapo, Ita-Itebo, Ondo, and Imoru roads, believed to be strongholds of cultists and scenes of bloody confrontation between rival gangs in the past. And frightened residents reacted nervously to the sounds of fire crackers, often mistaking them for loud reports of gunfire.

A large concentration of the hoodlums, most of who dropped out from tertiary institutions in Ogun and were allegedly recruited by politicians during the last general elections to work for them as political thugs, in Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu, has engendered a deep feeling of insecurity among the residents of those towns.

The same thugs have taken to extorting money from commercial transport operators and harassing other law-abiding people everywhere in the state. These cultists are known to keep the scores or count of the people they have killed.

A highly-placed security official in the state on Wednesday confirmed the surge in the activities of cultists.

He said, "We have in our custody a 19- year-old leader of a secret cult. This is to tell you how bad the situation has become. Recently, a cultist walked up to a young woman he was trying to woo.

"The youth must have said something that provoked the young lady to anger. And she slapped him. The boy went to call for reinforcement. When he returned, he did not meet the girl. So, he picked up two of her friends.

"[b]These boys publicly humiliated these girls by stripping them Unclad. As if that wasn't enough, some of the boys inserted lighted cigarettes in the private parts of the girls. They did this in the full view of the public. [/b]We have arrested some of those boys, but the fact remains that they need to be checked.

"Most of the young men we arrest for being in possession of small arms are usually members of secret cults. With the support of educational institutions and parents, I am sure we would be able to put a stop to cultism in the state."

CRIME DIGEST gathered that membership of these cults groups is no longer exclusive to students of tertiary institutions in the state, but open to just anybody that is willing to be committed to the groups.

A commercial motorcycle operator in Ijagun area of the state, known as Tiepo, told our correspondent that the only pre-requisite for admission into some of the secret cults in Ogun is courage.

Tiepo said, "Unlike the past, you do not need to be an undergraduate to join a scret cult. All you need is raw courage."

He said that membership of the cults was open to taxi drivers, okada riders, ticketing officers, artisans, even street urchins.

Tiepo said the cultists usually hired the services of okada riders whenever they were on clandestine missions. Some of the motorcyclists actually joined the cults out of fear or ignorance.

He said, "On two occasions, I was forced to take some of them to their meetings. This people are terrible. During the tenure of former Governor Gbenga Daniel, a young man would mount a motorcycle with his gun on his lap and nobody would stop him.

"This made those of us that are okada operators to be wary of the kind of passengers we carry. We hardly pick up two passengers at a time and we avoid anyone carrying a bag. It has affected our business in the past.

"One day, I picked up a young man, who looked harmless to me until I saw his gun. I was very frightened and I decided not to carry him again, but he cajoled me. I had no choice but to obey him.

"Some of my colleagues were not as lucky; they got their own motorcycles snatched. Some even said they witnessed murders but were afraid to report the cases for fear of their life."

But Tiepo noted that most of the cultists and those behind criminal activities in the areas mentioned were not indigenes of Ogun State.

"Most of these people are not from Ogun. They come from Lagos and Oyo states. When they commit crimes and they are declared wanted by the police, they run to Ogun and hide till the heat cools off," he said.

A youth, who had renounced his membership of an unnamed secret cult, said majority of the notorious cultists used to converge on Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago-Iwoye until the school shut for a long while.

As a result of the closure of the OOU, the cultists moved to Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode. The former cultist described a top ranking member of staff of the institution as a patron of the secret cult who helped to coordinate most of their activities.

Another source at TASUED confirmed this and said cultism was rampant in the university until the authorities decided to clamp down on the activities of cultists in 2010. As a result, most of the cultists fled to the institution's College of Education in Omu.

The source said, "Where do these students obtain sophisticated weapons? They are given to them by politicians. They are on the payroll of some politicians in the state.

"When they are done, they dump these students. The management's re-organisation drove these boys out. The vice-chancellor has zero tolerance for cultism.

"Suspected cultists are either rusticated or suspended, depending on the gravity of their offence. The measure adopted by the Senate, which is supporting the institution's security, is yielding dividends. The cultists still exist on campus, but they have gone underground now."

A student of OOU, who lives on Mini-Campus Road, says[b] clashes between rival cult groups are still common in Ago-Iwoye.[/b]

He says, "Cultists still constitute a nuisance to other law-abiding citizens and fellow students here. They target rival cult groups and in the process, cause confusion in the town.

"They rarely disturb on campus. Most of their killings and clashes take place outside the university, though some of the cultists hide on campus. It is worse in Ijebu-Igbo because that is the base of the Eiye Confraternity. About 20 per cent of the cultists in Ogun State live in Ago-Iwoye. They include the Buccaneers, Eiye, Mafia, Pirates and ."

The spokesman for the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, told our correspondent that the police were aware of the surge in the activities of secret cults in the state. He said, "But this case is peculiar to Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode. Most of the cultists in Sagamu are not undergraduates. When they commit crime, they run to their base.

"In the past, only university students were regarded as cultists. It is no longer so. However, most of the cultists in Ijebu-Ode are students. Cultists are more in Ijebu-Ode because there are many schools there.

"Cultism is not like armed robbery or murder. So, one has to be careful about dealing with it. We are tackling the issue and we are working closely with the tertiary institutions in the state. We are also working with traditional rulers to help in curbing the menace. We need the help and support of parents, schools and lecturers."

How safe is Ogun state? Should this not be protested against?

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