IN a sustained alarming trend, Rivers State recently re-asserted that itself and cultism are like conjoined twins. Many residents that particular Monday sustained injuries in a rival cult clash in the Amadi-Ama community in the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of the state. Two persons died in the gory clash fuelled by a supremacy battle between the Icelanders and Greenlanders confraternities. Their brazenness is shocking.
Rivers State has become a hotbed of cult violence and the killings come in bunches. The daring, blood-sucking cultists have been known to treat the terrified dwellers to absurdities by beheading, shooting victims to death at will, and instilling fear in them with their dastardly acts. They do not engage in hole-and-corner activities, but operate so brazenly that security agents often appear overwhelmed and the government seemingly on a long holiday.
In February 2020, seven residents lost their lives while several others were injured following clashes between two rival cults, Deywell and Degbam, in the Etche Local Government Area of the state. The battle was extended into the area by the misguided groups sacrificing hapless inhabitants in their war of rivalry. Like many others in communities in the grip of the unbridled cultists, women in the Owube community in the Ahoada LGA, were distraught at the brutal clashes and protested at the Government House, Port Harcourt, last June. They claimed that cult boys killed over 20 indigenes of the community, forcing many to relocate out of fear. In April 2020, clashes claimed the lives of four persons in the state.
In May 2020, a four-man cult gang stormed Diobu, in the state capital and shot dead a man suspected to belong to a rival group after a brawl over “security fee” from traders. In June 2016, two police officers and five others were feared killed in Rumuji and Ovogo communities in the Emohua LGA during a battle between the Icelanders and Greenlanders.
The supercilious activities of cultists are unashamedly carried out publicly without regard for security agents and recruitment of members is openly conducted in public schools by rival groups. Residents live in fear, especially as the government struggles vainly to ensure their safety. Security experts have noted that superiority war among political godfathers often fuels cultism and gangster wars. Amnesty International noted in a January 9, 2020 report that residents also alleged that influential politicians often provide arms and protection to violent youth groups in the state. This finds accuracy in the unabashed ways the cultists carry on in Rivers with the certainty of being released even when arrested. They perpetrate crass acts and still walk freely to the chagrin of grieving families of their dead victims.
No doubt, cultism is not restricted to Rivers, but the frequency and scale of cult clashes in the state dwarf cult-related activities in other states in the country. It is also striking that initiatives by the government to curb the menace have been embarrassingly inadequate. The amnesty offered to the cultists to surrender their weapons in exchange for pardon failed because the killers soon returned to their old ways after laying down some of their arms.
The killing of notorious cultists in the state such as ‘Italian’, ‘Lucifer’, ‘Oil Minister’ and ‘Don Wanee’ worsened the danger rather than end it. Wanee’s gang was believed to have masterminded the awful 2018 New Year’s Day killing of about 15 persons returning from crossover church service in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA. Legislation such as the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Law No. 8 of 2018 and the Rivers State Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) (Amendment) Law No. 6 of 2018 rather than make the cultists edgy, further emboldened them to be deadlier. This is an anomaly.
Youth join gangs for protection, enjoyment, respect, money, or because a friend is in a gang (peer pressure). The AI report stated that 60 people lost their lives in various communities in the state in 2019. It noted that the victims were killed mostly in the Khana and Gokana LGAs. The AI, painting the grim cult clashes picture in the state, said, “Our findings show that the government is still not doing enough to protect people in these communities from attacks. The killers are literally getting away with murder while no one is being arrested or punished for these crimes … the rise in cult-related violence is as a result of government’s failure to investigate, arrest and prosecute perpetrators, as the culture of impunity continues to embolden further attacks.”
The unsettling rise in cult violence, combined with a string of horrific crimes, especially armed robbery and kidnapping, has left the public jittery. Power tussles between political gladiators in the state have undoubtedly deeply weakened the base of likely solutions to the worrying issue. There should be conscious efforts to mobilise a neutral, joint security team to tackle the situation. The onslaught against the menace must be purposeful and holistic. The full weight of the state’s anti-cultism law must be applied on obstinate cultists to rid Rivers of violence. No one should be seen to be above the law.
The state is apparently awash with illegal arms in the hands of criminal elements. A mop-up exercise should reverse this situation. The Small Arms Survey states that 875 million small arms, produced by more than 1,000 companies from nearly 100 countries are in circulation worldwide. More than 10 million of these arms are already in Nigeria, according to an official record. The United Nations says that 350 million out of the 500 million small and light weapons circulating in West Africa are in Nigeria.
It is wise to save the state from turning a killing field. A state’s enduring legacies should tower above politics and personal interests. This is where true governance draws its strength.
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