Benin City – When Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and others founded what is believed to be Nigeria’s first campus confraternity, The Pyrates Confraternity in the late 1950s, he could not have possibly thought about the negative impact and untold carnage that cultism would perpetrate in the country as the lofty brotherhood ideas of equality, unity and oneness will be corroded and replaced by the most debased and brutal form of animalism, wanton destruction and killing.
Reports reaching our news desk said a group of cultists recently attacked the family of Vincent Omon brutally and injuring two of his siblings in the process.
Our investigation reveals that trouble started when a local vigilante group arrested some suspected armed robbers and cultists terrorising the Ikpoba Hill area of the city.
“One of the gang members earlier had a quarrel with one Vincent Omon who openly accused him of stealing his Samsung Galaxy phone. After the arrest of some members of the gang, Vincent Omon was accused of giving the vigilante group false implicating evidence to the vigilante group over the activities of this cult group and was openly threatened by other members at large”, investigation revealed.
“Every family member of Vincent Omon was severely beaten and that Vincent Omon was lucky not to be at home on the day of attack as the cult group made it abundantly clear that they were after the live of Vincent Omon.
“The gaping security challenge that continues to face the nation is not helped by the huge corruption that exists in the nation which militants against all efforts to ensure a safe society. Vincent Omon has not been seen nor has any one heard from him since the attack day as he has gone into hiding for fear of his life.
High profile members of the police rank and file are rumoured to be members of these cult groups making reliant on the police force a rather dangerous enterprise, our source noted.
“It is, however hoped that the menace of cultism will be nipped in the bud or drastically reduced so as to ensure safety of lives and properties, our source who chose to be anonymous further added.
In the meantime, family members of Vincent Omon are still in an undisclosed private hospital where they are receiving medical treatment for their injuries and meanwhile the whereabouts of Vincent Omon has still not be ascertained as at press time.
