The National Association of Nigerian Students has urged the police and other security agencies to intensify their efforts to combat cultism and end the frequent cult-related killings in the country.
NANS made this call on Saturday through a statement signed by Abdul-Yekinn Odunayo, the National Clerk of the Senate.
The student body voiced concern over the recent rise in cult-related violence, lamenting that these senseless killings have claimed many promising young lives, instilled fear among residents, and disrupted the peaceful environment essential for the nation’s socio-economic growth.
The student body highlighted that cultism has transformed parts of Ogun State, including Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta, Ilaro, Ota, and Ifo, into battlegrounds where rival cult groups engage in violent clashes.
NANS raised an alarm about anticipated attacks and violent clashes between rival cult groups on July 7, stating, “7/7 is a date particularly set aside to mark the day of a notorious cult group, where different cult groups engage in bloody clashes.
“The day is always marked with bloodshed by rival cult groups to demonstrate their notoriety and superiority.
“Cultism, as we all know, is not only an aberration in our society, it is evil that has caused the deaths of so many students and other residents. The menace has turned Ogun State, particularly our campuses, into theatres of war, where members of different cult groups battle for supremacy.
“The recent gruesome attack and murder of a final year student of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ogun State, by suspected cultists is heart-wrenching and saddening.
“According to an eyewitness account, Ahmed Ayinla Fabiyi, a student of the History and Diplomatic Studies Department, was set to take his final paper and celebrate his birthday on the same day, when he was brazenly dragged out of the examination hall.
“Fabiyi, a suspected cultist, was reportedly hacked to death by members of his rival cult group right on the school premises.
“It was gathered that the gang disguised as friends, ostensibly there to surprise Fabiyi for his birthday, and carried him out of the hall under this pretence.
“NANS condemns this barbaric act in strong terms. The perpetrators must be fished out by our security agencies and made to face justice.
“We, hereby, appeal to the Ogun State government to ensure the killers of Fabiyi and many others like him don’t go unpunished.
“We, hereby, reiterate that engaging in cultism is not noble but a facade to perpetrate evil and commit heinous crimes. Students should not allow themselves to be cajoled into joining anyone, no matter innocuous it may appear on the surface. Cultism is cultism, and the result of engaging in it is always regrettable.
“Evil is evil, no matter the colouration you give it. Cultism is destructive, and it will only bring pain and anguish at the end of the day,” Odunayo said.
