The menace of cultism in the country is becoming alarming and portends grave danger if not checked. A recent report by SBM Intelligence indicates that no fewer than 1,686 lives were lost in at least 909 cult and gang-related incidents across the country between January 2020 and March 2025.
Giving a breakdown of the incidences across the geo-political zones of the country, it stated that Rivers State topped the fatality chart with 215 deaths, followed by Lagos (197 deaths) and Edo (192 deaths).
It also highlighted the involvement of groups such as Vikings, Icelanders, Eiye, Aiye, Black Axe, and Greenlanders. The North Central contends with cult groups like Scavengers and Chain, while the North East and North West have Ƴan Daba in Kano, Kalare in Gombe, and Ƴan Mage in Zaria.
On the heels of this investigation came another disturbing report from the Edo and Ogun states Police Command. They had both issued public advisories cautioning residents on intelligence reports indicating that cult groups were allegedly planning an anniversary celebration, dubbed “777,” across the states.
They warned hoteliers, lounge and bar owners, and other places that could serve as a harbour for ‘these criminals’ not to allow any unlawful gathering in their business places or face the wrath of the law.
Just last month, residents of Abua/Odua local government area of Rivers state raised the alarm over renewed violence and cultism in the community following the gruesome machete attack on a prominent community leader, the Chairman of Okana Community, Idiege Benjamin.
These incidences reflect the prevalence of entrenched cult and gang activities in the country over the years. Gradually, cultism, which hitherto thrived in mostly tertiary institutions, has morphed into a hydra-headed monster in society, devouring hapless citizens in its wake.
We recall the dreaded Otokoto cult in the 1980s and 90s and its nefarious activities. But it was eventually unravelled and dismantled, and those involved paid heavily and dearly for it.
Presently, cultism has taken over the political arena as membership in cult groups has become both a political and social ladder to exalted positions.
Cultism has pervaded the country’s nooks and crannies so that membership now determines who gets what and how far one can go in one’s career.
The cultists brazenly carry out daylight daredevilry cult-related violence (e.g., killings, armed clashes) on campuses, markets, neighbourhoods, and in urban centres, causing fear among citizens and discouraging social and economic activity. Under those circumstances, public safety is jeopardised.
Cult groups are known to acquire weapons illegally, increasing the threat of organised crime and drug use in the country. Security experts link the country’s high crime rate, including killings, kidnapping and extortion, to the groups’ activities.
Sadly, in the opinion of this newspaper, politicians who use them as enforcers during elections to intimidate opponents fuel their activities and give them life.
And this has continued to taint and undermine the democratic process, with thugs and hoodlums making away with ballot boxes during elections and, in most instances, stopping voters from exercising their franchise. This practice compromises free and fair elections and fosters political violence, political militancy, or insurgency.
Cultism’s significance and far-reaching effects on Nigerian society cut across social, economic, political and psychological dimensions.
Nigeria is not attracting new investors today, in part because the activities of these outlawed groups are creating tension and insecurity across the land.
Eliminating cultism, especially in a country like Nigeria, which is deeply rooted in educational institutions, communities, and even politics, requires a multi-faceted and sustained approach.
Many of those cultists often drop out of school or have criminal records, making them unemployable and a ready tool for related acts of criminality.
Economic hardship was cited in the SBM Intelligence report as a driver, pushing more youths into violent gangs, with first-quarter 2025 incidents already on pace to surpass 2022’s total.
Granted that Nigeria already has laws against cultism, e.g., anti-cultism laws in Lagos, Edo, and other states, enforcement is often weak.
We know that one of the objectives of criminal justice is to deter others from engaging in it, hence there’s need for the laws of the various states on cultism to be reviewed, so that stiffer punishments can be imposed on offenders who are found guilty of it, and death penalty when murder occurs, as a result of their activities to serve as deterrent.
While cult-related crimes should be fast-tracked in court, the police special units, on the other hand, should be trained and empowered to investigate and dismantle cult networks.
The politicians who sponsor them, and so identified, should be treated as cultists and treated in the same way.
The law that defines cultism in Nigeria and other developed countries includes, inter alia, rent and financial support for cult activities, instigating cult activities, or allowing your property to be used for cult activities.
And one of the criteria for qualification for holding public offices under the Nigerian Constitution states that the person should not be a member of an unlawful society, such as a cult.
So, where the cultists mention anybody that is sponsoring them, the sponsors should also be charged and subjected to the same punishment as those who perpetrated the act itself.
In our opinion, there is a need to look into the laws and impose stiffer punishments because not doing that will only be glossing the surface and in the words of Senator Shehu Sani, using deodorant to kill mosquitoes.
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