OF CULTS AND STREET VIOLENCE
Security agencies must do more to curb the menace
The rate at which cult-related violence is spreading across the country should worry those in authorities. For the umpteenth time in Lagos last week, cultists went on the rampage in the Bariga area, killing three persons. The gunshots which reportedly started at Idi-Aba area, considered to be the den of cultists and drug dealers, soon spread to several other areas. A week earlier in the Bariga area which has become the operational headquarters for cult-related crimes in the state, two people were hacked to death in what was attributed to revenge killings. With reports that the cult group whose members were killed had written letters to some areas announcing that they would avenge the death of their slain colleagues, these criminal gangs now behave as though above the law.
As a state increasingly becoming the new epicentre of this deviant behaviour, the authorities in Lagos should be concerned about this growing lawlessness. During the last Easter holiday, four suspected members of Aiye and Eiye confraternities were killed in series of bloody clashes at Ijanikin area of the state. Several others sustained machete cuts during the attacks. Unfortunately, the madness is not restricted to Lagos. That cult wars and gang violence have exacerbated the climate of lawlessness and fear in the polity is no longer in doubt. The menace has become so widespread that armed robbers, drug peddlers and other sundry miscreants are now being recruited into the fold.
In many states of the federation, cultists of various stripes act with impunity, killing, raping and maiming victims while causing widespread destruction. Yet the authorities seemed helpless. For sure, cultism is not new in Nigeria. For years, several people have identified with one form of cultism or another either for personal/family protection or for the promotion and safeguard of certain interests. But today, cultism has become almost like a status symbol, especially on our campuses where members kill sometimes for reasons as flimsy as being snubbed by a student of the opposite sex. From our school campuses to the streets, these criminal gangs operate without restraints.
A few years ago, some prominent people in the society were among 67 suspected cultists arrested and quizzed in Benin City, the Edo State capital, by men of the special squad deployed in the state to curb the growing killings and cult activities. In the days preceding the deployment of the police team, some criminals said to be members of ‘Eiye’, ‘Black Axe’, ‘Buccaneers’, ‘Aiye’ and ‘Jurist’ confraternities had unleashed hell on the streets of Benin. The body count was 22 dead. Among those arrested for their alleged involvement in the mayhem were 14 Junior Secondary School students between the ages of 12 and 15.
In June 2013 about 20 persons were killed due to a confrontation between members of the ‘Eiye Confraternity’ and ‘Black Axe’ over some financial issues. Earlier in January 2011, residents of Benin City were under siege during a similar violent clash between the same rival cult groups in what was described as a battle for supremacy. Over 26 suspects were killed during the fracas. What is particularly disturbing is that the authorities seemed bewildered in tackling the endemic problems of cult wars. While no plausible explanations have been provided, most people believe that many young men are encouraged because there are hardly convictions for the crime. And if this persists, Nigerians may have to brace up for more gang violence.
