Ogun is seeking death penalty for cultists

The Ogun state government says it will enact a law that will punish people engaged in cult activities in the state with the death penalty.

The south-west state, next door to Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, has been hit by a wave of gang wars resulting in deaths.

A clash on Sunday between two notorious cult groups – Eiye and Aye Confraternity groups in the Sagamu area of the state resulted in the death of multiple deaths.

Police said seven suspects were arrested and weapons recovered. Local authorities imposed a curfew in the area.

Murderers, not cultists

Gov. Dapo Abiodun met with the paramount ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, at the Akarigbo Palace in Sagamu on Tuesday. He said the state considers cultists as murderers.

“It is within my powers as the governor of this state to pronounce the death penalty on people and we are going to ensure that we enact that because when people appreciate and understand the consequences of their behaviours, perhaps they will begin to have a rethink,” he said.

“We will rely on our traditional rulers because they are the closest to the grassroots, for all the intelligence support because these people are not spirits. They live within us, they are tenants in our houses.

“The last time I came here, I said any house where we arrest anybody connected to either cultism or kidnapping, we will demolish.

“I am now pronouncing that we will no longer refer to these people as cultists or any other name. We are pronouncing them as murderers and we will mete out punishments that are deserving to murderers,” he warned.