- The murder of five persons in Edo must be investigated and the killers brought to book
It is alarming that cultism was mentioned concerning the tragic killing of three students and two alumni of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State. Reports said five people were shot dead by gunmen suspected to be cultists on September 18.
The tragedy was triggered by a fight between two persons at a bar located around Judges’ Quarters, in the Esan West Local Government Area of the state. According to an account, “One of them was said to have claimed that his shirt was torn during the brawl and left the scene angrily only to return later with a group of armed men who opened fire, killing five persons.”
Those who were killed included a final-year medical student, Einstein Chinedum; the son of a former council chairman, Ose Abulu; a corps member, Ugwi Martha; and one Jerry Omobude.
The state police commissioner, Johnson Kokumo, reportedly attributed the killings to “cult rivalry.” He said: “The people at war were members of different cult groups… Arrests have been made. I think four or six people have been arrested with weapons recovered.” Also, students who reportedly witnessed the clash said it involved cultists.
But the management of the university maintained that the killings had nothing to do with cultism. The university’s spokesman, Edward Aihevba, was quoted as saying: ”This was an incident that really happened in Ekpoma, among a group of friends in a bar. It happened far away from the campus. Because it was not on the campus, the police are the ones to investigate. We were not at the spot, so we rely on what the police saw and what their investigation confirmed.”
It is puzzling that the management of the university rejected the findings of the police, after conceding that it was the duty of the police to investigate the killings. The university’s argument that the killings didn’t happen on the campus does not mean, and cannot mean, that the killings couldn’t have been connected with cultism.
It is understandable that the university is defensive, particularly as the police authorities reportedly described the institution as “a den of cultists.” Indeed, the police reportedly asserted that there were statistics to show the prevalence of cultism in the university.
It is noteworthy that, in May, the management of the university and students of the university participated in the 10km Okpekpe Road Race in Edo State as a way of campaigning against cultism. It was a reflection of the problem and the university’s efforts to tackle it. The vice chancellor, Prof. Ignatius Onimawo, explained their participation in the race: ”The campaign against cultism is to ensure that cultism and other social vices are stamped out from the institution.”
Beyond the claim and counter-claim, it is reassuring that the state government condemned the killings and made a move that signalled a serious fight against cultism. Governor Godwin Obaseki, speaking through a spokesman, said his administration would not tolerate lawlessness around the university community. More importantly, Obaseki has asked the attorney-general to activate the portions of the law that deal with cultism.
What happened in Ekpoma, leading to the killing of five people, should be thoroughly investigated. Those found culpable should not escape legal punishment. There is no question that such punishment has deterrent value. It is not enough to express outrage over the mindless killings without punishing the perpetrators.
The Ekpoma tragedy has again highlighted the problem of cultism in Nigeria’s educational institutions, and even in the country at large. It suggests that there are problems at three levels: the home, the society and the government. Parental, social and governmental interventions are needed to tackle cultism.
