Fraternities’ Grip on Nigeria

In many Nigerian streets, cult fights occur on an intermittent basis, with young people being the main offenders. In 2023, the Nextier Violent Conflict Database recorded 98 cult-related violence that led to 211 deaths. However, the origins of cults in Nigeria and what they are today are starkly different. Cultism in Nigeria dates back to the 1950s, when the first secret cult, the Sea Dogs Confraternity (Pirates), was formed at the University of Ibadan. At the time, this secret cult was created in good faith and with good intentions of maintaining law and order on campuses. As time passed, amid the ’70s and ’80s, trouble broke out in the cult due to unresolved leadership problems, which led to the formation of other cults. By the early 1990s, there was a cult explosion, primarily the formation of female confraternities, which acted as spies for the male confraternities and operated as prostitution syndicates. This explosion in confraternity activities led to extreme hooliganism, violence and bloody struggle for supremacy among rival confraternities.

Cult wars occur in various regions of the country. However, they appear more widespread in the Niger Delta region, notably Rivers State. Data from the Nextier Violent Conflict Database also reveals that Rivers State tops the list of reported cult activities, followed by Delta and Ogun States; notwithstanding, other states in Nigeria are also plagued by cultism, such as Benue, Lagos, Anambra, Ekiti, Osun and Edo. In what can be described as a chilling cult carnage, gang fights and street robberies, both within and outside campuses, have characterised cultism in the states mentioned above. In Benue state, seven people were reportedly killed on February 24, 2024, in a rival cult clash that rocked North Bank, a suburb of Makurdi notorious for cult activities. Based on eyewitness reports, the clash was between Black Axe and Red Axe cult groups.

Cultism over the years has become deeply rooted in Nigeria’s social fabric, especially in schools and youth organisations, as seen with various arrests of primary and secondary school students yearly. Cultism in secondary schools also points out that in tackling the problem, it must go beyond its known area of prevalence, the tertiary institutions. In April 2020, activities of the notorious One Million Boys and Awawa Boys cult groups forced many residents of Lagos and Ogun states to form vigilante groups to prevent the continuance of attacks in their neighbourhoods.

Nigerian youths who belong to cult groups are constantly in harm’s way. According to the Institute of Current World Affairs, cults exist to exert power and are sponsored mainly by “big men”, as thriving cults harm young people in Nigeria. Therefore, the menace of cultism requires a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder approach. On the multi-sectoral level, the Nigerian government must tailor kinetic measures to address the threats posed by cult activities to secure lives and investments. In addition, policy measures are required to improve services such as rehabilitation centres as a non-forceful approach to cater to rehabilitation processes for members of cult groups in prison or those seeking therapy.

Government, civil society organisations, and faith-based and cultural institutions must champion a value reorientation campaign to fight the prevalence of cultism. There is a need to redefine social norms and values. There is also a need to address socio-economic conditions that foster cult activities and other forms of violence by provide employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors. Several government schemes (such as the Presidential Amnesty Programme and the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme) may be used to promote cooperative societies that can serve as a source of capital for youngsters interested in small and medium-sized businesses.