Cultism: Udu CDHR Wants DSTG To Declare State Of Emergency, Summon Community Leaders To Salvage Situation

By Oguns Sammy, Warri

Following the activities of rival cult groups’ clashes and their attendant havoc which they have wrecked on the communities, clamming lives and property worth millions of naira in Udu in Udu Local Government Area, Delta State, the Committee for the Defence of Human Right (CDHR), Udu Unit, has tasked the Delta State govemment under the leadership of Senator( Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa to declare a state of emergency in the area just as he tasked him to summon the community leaders.of the thirty two (32) communities to salvage the situation.

The body disclosed this over the weekend through Udu unit CDHR Coordinator, Comrade (Amb) Oritsematosan Derrick Agberen, while speaking with news men in his office in Udu.

Udu unit CDHR boss, Comrade (Amb) Agberen said incessant cult groups’ rival clashes in the area have left people especially youths dead on daily basis, adding that this has become a source of worry to many concerned Udu people in particular and Delta State in general.
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He therefore called on the state government under Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa to declare a state of emergency and summon the thrirty two (32) community leaders in order to put a stop to this menace.

He said: “The rate of killings as a result of cult groups clashes are worrisome and we therefore call on the government to take urgent steps to address this problem by declaring a state of emergency to solve this problem once and for all before things get out of hand.”

Udu unit CDHR Coordinator, Comrade (Amb) Agberen said the killlings have become the order of the day by these cult groups, saying the guns allegedly used by these rival cult groups are more sophisticated than that of the NIgeria Police Force.

He said: “it has become a routine in the area that killings have become the order of the day among rival cult groups. One needs to see the kind of guns these boys are using. I think they are more sophisticated than the ones Nigeria Police Force are using.”

Comrade (Amb) Agberen who went memory lane said in the days of old, cultism was non-violent, as they were formed to promote certain goals and objectives, adding it was formed to promote intellectual, social and correct the ills of the society thus assisting the government and protect human rights (
fighting against human rights’ violation), adding, but today the reverse is the case as they now destroy lives and property.

The Udu Unit CDHR boss said the Udu community leaders are not helping matters as they allegedly aid these cult groups in the area.

He based this on the fact that they (community leaders) refuse to provide security agencies information on how to nab these youths perpetrating this violence.

Comrade (Amb) Agberen said these cult groups are allegedly used by the community leaders to protect their political interests and ambtion hence they chide them.

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He said: “These cult groups are not ghosts, they live in the different communities that make the local government area and the community leaders know them but because they use them for protection and promote their political ambtions, they shield them.”

On the challenges of the Nigeria Police Force in combating crimes in the area,.Udu Unit CDHR boss said the police in Udu are not finding it easy to curb crimes due to the fact that the 32 communities have one faulty police patrol van, adding that has made it difficult for the police to respond swiftly to distrss calls at any given time.

While praising the efforts of the police force to fight crimes in the area despte having one faulty patrol van, he appealed to Ovwian Aladja Divisiional Police station, Anti Cult Groups to desist from harassing innocent citizens residing in Udu but they should focus on the cultists.

He added that the body (CDHR) has received lots of complaints from many people on the activities of anti-cult groups on how they (innocent) are harassed by some of the anticult Group, saying this is not good.

Comrade ( Amb) Agberen said by the training of the Anti-cult groups and other police officers, it is easy to detect cultists as they (police) know their (cultists’) modus operandi.

He therefore appealed to the Anticult groups to go after cultists and not innocent people.