Cultism bringing communities to their knees

From the campuses to the communities, cult groups have continued to terrorise citizens across the country.   Not too long ago, cultism was the vogue in many campuses in the country with members of rival groups killing and maiming one another. Hardly any week passed without cases of cultism with security agents largely overwhelmed. These […]

From the campuses to the communities, cult groups have continued to terrorise citizens across the country.

 

Not too long ago, cultism was the vogue in many campuses in the country with members of rival groups killing and maiming one another. Hardly any week passed without cases of cultism with security agents largely overwhelmed. These cult groups used sophisticated weapons to coerce innocent students into joining them. Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that cultism prominently identified with tertiary institutions has now moved into cities, especially urban slums, leading to several clashes between rival groups.  Such clashes are not without victims and damages with innocent people bearing the greater brunt. 

 

Cultism: Eating the soul of FCT

It is no more news that there is a surge in cultism in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and more disturbing is that cult clashes are prominent in communities than tertiary institutions in the territory.

Youths, even those out of school, are now members of several cult groups. There are more than five tertiary institutions in the FCT, both public and private but the recent number of clashes outside the campuses supersedes reported cases within the campuses. 

Though some of the victims are undergraduates like a student of Abia State University that was reportedly killed in Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja. The victim identified as Azubuike was said to have been shot by rival cult groups along Gado Nasko in the area. 

Bothered by the trend, the Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Abdullahi Adamu Candido urged the council’s security outfit, AMAC Marshal Guards, to stem out cultism in rural communities. He said Karmo, Gwagwa and Apo areas are worst hit by cultism.

Among the communities in Apo mostly affected by cultism is Wumba. The urban slum has been described as a ground where cultists hibernate. Residents said they live in fear as cultists not only attack them but also burgle vehicles. 

The secretary to the community’s head, Istifanus Danlami, expressed concern that there were more than five cult groups in the community. 

But more alarming is the rate of cultism in Mararaba, a border community between Abuja and Nasarawa State. Cultists, mostly teenagers, are dare devils in the community.

The Nasarawa State Command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Idrisu Kennedy, who described cultism as “a disturbing phenomenon,” said most of the cases in Mararaba were not reported, thereby allowing the problem to thrive.

Also, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police Musa Kimo urged parents and guardians to provide moral and spiritual guidance for the youths, as according to him, their future is seriously threatened by the trend.   

  

Kalare terrorizing Gombe

In Gombe, the dreadful activities of the Kalare gang have for a long been a nightmare for the people of the state, especially residents of Gombe metropolis.

The group started as a youth wing during political campaigns, when politicians hired and armed them to provide some kind of protection during electioneering campaigns.

However, their activities in Gombe became more pronounced towards the build-up to the 2003 gubernatorial elections, when the then candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Muhammad Danjuma Goje was trying to wrestle power from the then Governor Abubakar Habu Hashidu of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

After Goje won the election, members of the gang started harassing people and killed and maimed some in the process.

There was allegations during the time, that the Kalare gang has the backing of the then Governor Goje, an allegation he always refuted.

However, after he was re-elected in 2007, Governor Goje launched a special joint task force tagged “Anti-Kalare Squad” to check their activities. 

With the election of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo in 2011, his first public statement shortly after taking the oath of office, was outlawing Kalare and other related activities.

The governor also established a re-orientation programme where most of the Kalare youth were engaged as traffic, environmental and ward marshals as the case may be, to help rehabilitate them.

In an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, the Gombe State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Obed Mary Malum, said police have intensified surveillance to arrest the hoodlums.  She said the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Austin Iwar, introduced a Social Crime Prevention Programme to empower the youths and as such reduce crime.

 

 Calabar no longer enjoying peace

In Cross River State, the rate at which cultism has pervaded the society is unprecedented. The state, particularly Calabar, the capital, which was the bastion of peace and serenity, has become scary.

Not even armed robbery, but cultism is one crime which the police and other security agencies are battling hard to contain. It appears many people now see it as a fad or status symbol to belong to one or two cult groups.

There is hardly a major town where these cult groups do not cause havoc. Calabar-South is now known for the issue with Ugep and Obubra in the fray.

The Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, who hails from the state, raised an alarm when his nephew, suspected to have belonged to some of the nocturnal groups was killed in Ugep by suspected cultists. For three days, the cult war persisted, leading to massive destruction of lives and properties.

The state commissioner of police, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, said the command too has stepped up efforts to rid the state of cults. Noticing that the cult boys, including armed robbers often use tricycle to perpetuate their killings, he ordered that operators must start work by 6am and stop by 5pm, he told reporters.

 

Plateau community, religious leaders meet over Sara-suka

The activities of the cult gang known as Sara-suka in Jos-North Local Government Area of Plateau State have continued to be a source of worry to the government of the state.

As such, stakeholders in the state are synergizing to tackle the menace. Recently, the Operation Safe Haven Commander, Major-General Rogers Nicholas met with community and religious leaders on how to checkmate the activities of the gang.

At the meeting, many supported the decision to demolish any house harbouring members of the gang. The Safe Haven Commander authorised the Sector 2 commander to investigate and go ahead to demolish such the house but warned that the taskforce must ensure that there are no women and children taking refuge in the area.

He stressed that “the issue of women coming out to prevent our men from arresting Sara-suka boys will never happen again. If any of your daughters is doing that, warn her.  We arrested one of the girls the last time and we have handed her over to the community leader. Next time we see her again, we will treat her like a man because I don’t see why a woman will come out and start to protest to protect criminals unless she is also one.”

 

Cultism spreads in Rivers

Cultism started in Rivers State in the 1990s when students in universities located in the state such as the University of Port Harcourt and the state-owned Rivers State University started grouping themselves into confraternities.

Rivers State University was notorious for cult activities as no day passed without one case of rival cult clash or the other. Various cult groups such as the Ice landers, Buccaneer, Dem gbam and Pirates always engaged in battle of supremacy.  In most cases the university authority had to shut the campus and suspend academic activities because of rival cult clashes. 

In the University of Port Harcourt, the dominant cult groups were Seadog confraternity and the Buccaneer. However, cult activities have crept into the communities of the state.

Security agencies had a tough time last year, when cult groups laid siege on some communities. Communities in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area such as Aga, Omoku, Okposi, Ukwunsi and other communities in Ahoada were over ran by rival  cult groups that were battling for supremacy. 

In Ahoada, rival cult gangs became so deadly that many communities in the area were deserted. Also farmlands became no-go areas as different gangs used them to hold kidnap victims.

The situation became very worrisome that the paramount ruler of Ekpeye, His Majesty Robinson. O. Robinson invoked the spirits of the land against perpetrators of cult activities in the area.

Nevertheless, over 70 persons were said to have lost their lives in Ahoada between 2014 and 2016 in rival cult related clashes. 

In Omoku, rival cult war assumed a worrisome dimension when scores of persons were beheaded. A pathetic incident was the beheading of an APC chieftain in Omoku alongside his wife and son.