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Busayo Gbadebor
Members of the Ijoko -Ogbayo community in Ogun State have cried out over the activities of some secret cult groups which have left so many youth dead, putting the community and its environ on perpetual fear.
Daily Independent investigation revealed that the once peaceful Ijoko-Ogbayo area has in recent years become a flashpoint for cultism, violent clashes, and killings, leaving residents in fear and leading to the community leaders calling on security agents for urgent intervention to secure lives and property of members of the public.
Further investigation revealed multiple reported cases of cult-related violence and killings in the axis in the last few years, which according to the residents were often carried out at in the wee hours of the nights, mostly targeted at suspected rival cult members and sometimes innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.
The violence according to some residents who did not want their names in print for obvious reasons of being attacked by suspected cultists had disrupted businesses, forced some families to relocate, and created tension in schools and markets.
Findings show that several factors accounted for fueling cultism among youth in the area.
Community members and elders cited unemployment, peer pressure, drug abuse, and the desire for power and protection as major causes, adding that many young people, with little access to jobs or mentorship, are reportedly recruited into cult groups with promises of money, influence, and security.
Inadequate security policing, easy access to weapons and weak parental supervision were also mentioned as contributing factors to the surge in cult activities in the area.
While official figures remain difficult to verify, community leaders and residents estimated that “not fewer than 15 to 20 persons” have died in cult-related violence in Ijoko-Ogbayo in the last five years. Most of the victims are said to be youths between ages 16 and 30.
Elders and community leaders in Ijoko-Ogbayo say they are not folding their arms in the fight against the menace.
The community leaders said they have embarked on meetings, school outreaches, and traditional engagements to warn youths against cultism.
“We have been telling our children that cultism has no future. It only brings shame, pain and death to families,” one elder stated.
The community have also set up local vigilante groups and partnered with religious bodies to counsel at-risk youth and provide alternative skills training.
Despite these efforts, residents say more needs to be done — including job creation, rehabilitation programs for repentant cultists, security measures and faster prosecution of arrested suspects.
As one community leader put it: “We cannot arrest our way out of this problem. We must address the root causes and give our youths hope.
