Ogun will treat cultism as terrorism, says Abiodun

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, says as part of efforts to tackle cultism in the state, his administration will henceforth treat it as an act of terrorism.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ security meeting on Friday at the Akarigbo’s palace in Sagamu, the governor stated that a Joint Intervention Squad comprising the military, police, the Department of State Services, Civil Defence and local vigilantes would be established to tackle the menace.

He said the headquarters of the squad would be situated in Sagamu Local Government Area, noting that its personnel would be adequately equipped for the task.

A statement on Friday quoted the governor as saying, “I am declaring cult members and cult activities here as an act of terrorism. I am taking these as a test of this administration’s will. I have sounded a note of warning in the past and I am sounding a fresh note of warning to all cult members, their parents, their landlords and their sponsors.

“From today, we are considering cult members and other criminals as saboteurs to the economy of not just this local government, this town, but this state. We will consider them as terrorists and I will deal with them as such. I have instructed our law enforcement agencies to smoke out these people.

“I have told the Commissioner of Police that he has no other job until every single member of this cult is found out. I am still trying to figure out what is the basis, motive and the reason behind these cultist activities in Ogun State, particularly, in Sagamu and Remoland.”

He said the state would collaborate with royal fathers to address the problem.

He added, “Reports show that there has been a prevalence of cult activities in Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Sagamu, Ikenne and Odogbolu. Particularly, we have been dealing with these issues over time, but in the last few weeks, we have begun to see an upsurge in the cases of inter-cultist rivalry that had resulted in clashes and killings of innocent people.”

The Akarigbo of Remoland and Chairman, Ogun State Traditional Council of Obas, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, who described cultism as an unacceptable act in the land, lamented that people from different culture and religions had co-existed in the town until some persons started disrupting the peace and progress of the town.