In Nigeria, cultism refers to secret societies bound by oaths. They operate with violent initiation rituals, criminal activities, and rigid hierarchies.
What began as campus confraternities has infiltrated politics, commerce, and security forces, bleeding deep into the country’s fabric.
While Nigerian cult groups now exhibit extreme violence, this was not always the case. Cultism in Nigeria originated as an intellectual brotherhood before transforming into criminal gangs.
Founded in 1952 at the University College Ibadan by Wole Soyinka and six classmates, the National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) advocated for social justice, literary debate, and anti-establishment ideals.
The trajectory shifted after the Civil War.
Economic decline fueled rivalries, spawning new groups with divergent agendas. The Eiye Confraternity emerged in 1965, followed by the Buccaneers in 1972.
These groups introduced weaponized initiations, abandoning social justice aims. The first recorded cult clash in Nigeria occurred in 1978 between the Pyrates and Buccaneers on the University of Ibadan campus.
Military rule (1983–1999) decimated university funding, accelerating cultism’s criminal evolution. Groups like the University of Benin’s Black Axe and the University of Port Harcourt’s Vikings shifted focus to extortion and political thuggery.
Campuses became breeding grounds for violence. Cultism soon metastasized into a national epidemic, spreading to urban slums and secondary schools.
Recruiters target young men through peer pressure and promises of resources, subjecting them to grotesque initiation rituals. According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), over 1,200 students have died in cult clashes since 1990.
Universities report significant cult-related dropouts, and election periods witness cult-linked attacks. The descent into lawlessness now includes oil bunkering and high-profile kidnappings. This endemic violence claims lives daily, leaving homes childless and innocent bystanders dead.
Despite legal measures—such as Lagos State’s 21-year sentence for convicted cultists—and repeated security operations, the crisis persists.
Effective solutions remain elusive. Economic desperation drives recruitment, making interventions like vocational programs and youth stipends essential.
Communities must combat the glamorization of cultism through education and civic responsibility. Nigeria’s cultism crisis is a self-inflicted wound born of economic collapse, corrupted values, and state failure.
Meaningful change requires systemic reform and economic revitalization. As historian Toyin Falola observes: “Cults are mirrors reflecting Nigeria’s broken social contract. Shatter the mirror, and the cracks remain.” Eradicating this scourge demands collective, sustained action.
Written By: Chinyeluogor Okafor
