A popular festival in Anambra State (Imo-Awka Cultural Festival), is expected to be a celebration of culture and homecoming of sons and daughters of the community, unfortunately the festival has now turned to a battle-field for cultists in the state. On May 28, 2023, Araroma junction, in Awka, the capital of Anambra State was charged as residents and traders in the area scampered for safety when rival cult groups engaged in a free for all. People sustained varying degrees of injuries from machete and bullets wounds.
It was gathered that the clash between the rival cult groups started from the venue of a festival at Ifite and spread to Awka, the Capital City of Anambra State, disrupting business activities in the city.
Venues as battlefield
According to a resident, who gave his name as Emeka, three men who were members of a cult group were gunned down, on May 22, by a rival cult group who pursued another member of the group to Anglican Bishop’s court along Ifiite road and shot two persons dead while in a tricycle, three others were injured.
Emeka said the fight of rival cult groups in Awka, is not new to residents and traders, as the killing by rival cult groups always start two days before the celebration of the annual Imo-Awka festival. He said: “The rival cult groups always take their unhealthy rivalry to South Africa and other European countries where they kill each other, whenever they also come home for such festivals they continue from where they stopped and continue with their supremacy battle.
It is an unfortunate situation in Anambra State as a whole. “It was also gathered that in South Africa the rival cult groups also act as informants for the South African Police against their brothers who are their rival cult members by exposing them and accusing each other as drug peddlers, it is a serious issue that requires urgent attention from the government. We have lost so many bright young men to cult related clashes in Anambra in recent times.
“Those in South Africa sometimes come home early to ambush for their rival members and gun down such people in retaliation for what they do to each other before returning home from South Africa or before leaving Nigeria.” It was also gathered that even in Onitsha, the commercial town, cultism has become the platform upon which young men stand to get revenue contracts either from the state or council. Comrade Osita Obi, the coordinator of Anambra Keke Riders Forum said what they have seen in the last 15 years had been the use of cultists to collect revenue in the state.
Government would award the generation of revenue to a contractor who pays a stipulated amount of money to government coffers and then hire revenue officers to collect the revenue, mostly those recruited to collect the revenue are cultists in disguise, because their approach is always scary. “I have been a victim of attacks from cultists before now, I was around Ekwueme Square when I got a call, but I was waiting for someone when the cult guys came in two tricycles and attacked me with cutlass from behind.
It was God that saved me, I spent two months at the hospital before I was discharged, the injury still remains till date. “They immediately pounced on me and started beating me and infact I had gone down with my head, ribs and arms bleeding, it was some tricycle riders who knew me that called the Divisional Police Officers of B Division and that was how I was rescued, some of the cultists were later arrested.
The case was charged to court and before the hearing was concluded I had already started seeing the boys who were charged to court in a beer parlour celebrating their release. That’s what we have been battling with. “It became clear to me that I cannot get justice from both the police and court, because both agencies have compromised their duty and the following day they continued to harass people and what that means is that nobody can stop them”.
Two brothers killed
Another resident of Awka, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the issue of cultism is a serious matter that requires urgent at- attention from the government, asking how can those who are supposed to be useful to themselves, parents and the country be killing each other for no reason.
“I would recall that last year, two young men who are cult members were clubbed to death in a sunny afternoon in a public glare, because of land related issues. The worst part of the issue is that people now hire cultists to help them reclaim land and politicians also use them during elections. ”
After the two brothers were buried, their younger brother was initiated into cultism, immediately his family members got wind that he has been initiated, he was taken out of the town and till date he has not returned. “The dangerous part of the issue now is that secondary school boys and girls are being initiated into cultism. It’s a serious trend in the South East now and governments in the region are not looking into that direction to check it.”
Artisans joining cult
Asides from students of secondary schools joining cults, membership of the group is said to have cut across tricycle riders, motorcycle riders, bus shuttle drivers, vulcanisers and wheel barrow pusher and other artisans. Mr John Okafor, a trader, said the issue of cultism is a serious one, alleging that some trade union leaders in Anambra markets are cult members, despite their level of education and exposure.
“The unfortunate aspect of the issue now is that the majority of the trade union leaders now pride themselves as members of different cult groups in the market and other places in the state. “Even the vigilance groups who are in the villages in the state and communities have compromised their duty, they have been infiltrated by cultists, this led to the dissolution of the Anambra Vigilance groups in the state by Governor Charles Soludo’s administration to prevent breakdown of law and order.
“Our vigilance groups have failed to provide the much needed protection of lives of our people, because instead they have connived with criminals and hoodlums, instead of them doing their work they are now protecting their members who are cultists which slow down their efforts in nipping crime in the bud across the state. It is our intention to set up another Anambra Vigilante Services, train them and make them work hand in hand with the police and other security agencies in the state to wipe out crime.”
Okafor further said that they are aware that there are some good persons among the vigilance group that they are going to bring them back into the new organisation that would be formed.
“There was a time police came up with a report that indicates that some of the vigilance groups hide under the cover of being vigilantes to execute their plot and whenever any of their members is arrested they will facilitate such persons’ release. I believe we are going to come out of it.”
Commissioner for homeland Affairs
Chief Chikodi Anarah, former special adviser to Governor Willie Obiano on Security Matters, now Commission for Homeland Matters said so far about 20 suspected cultist have been arrested in the last two months and they were handed over to the police for prosecution and arraignment. According to him, the present administration has a zero tolerance for criminality and other crimes, especially cultism.
“To be sincere with ourselves, the indigenes and residents of Awka knows who the cultists and other criminals are and they have been shielding them because they are their brothers, relatives and friends, but when they strike they blame government for not doing the job of protecting them, but we are doing our best.
“We have warned the villages and neighboring towns in Awka to be vigilant and report suspicious movements and gatherings to the security operatives and we have assured them of secrecy to protect their identity from the public. “Most of these cult activities are executed by outsiders who are members of those cult groups but the members who are natives provide information about those that have been marked for death.
It is on this issue that made Anambra State government to once again urge parents, relatives and leaders of the respective villages in Awka to take charge and provide first aid security measures to avert situations where life would be lost and they would be held responsible for whatever happens.” Anarah added that, there is a law coming that relatives of victims of cult related killings would be made to face the law for their action, this is to checkmate cult activities.
He said: “Once a member is killed, the family of such a cult member would horridly take such a person’s body away and bury him and atimes police and family of the victim always reach a compromise after money has exchanged hands, we are not going to allow that to happen again. Police should assist us in this aspect, at least police should be professional to keep the body of the victim until after investigation.”
Police reaction
The state Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, while reacting to the allegations said “we have been discharging our duties professionally without bias. “As police, we are doing our duties without bias, we appeal to every resident of Anambra to support us in the fight against cultism and other crimes confronting the state.
“We are not going to rest until we flush the bad eggs out of the state. The Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye has warned that all hands must be on deck to fight criminals in the state and warned criminal elements to stay away from the state.”
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