Molly Kilete
A 23-year-old barbing salon owner
at Jahi District, Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nweke,
will live to regret the day his path
crossed with cultists under the
cloak of friendship. Recounting
how he was deceptively introduced into cultism, he explained
that his customer tricked him into
accompanying him somewhere
very late at night of the fateful day
only to finally find himself inside a
forest where he was initiated.
He said the reality dawned on
him when he was surrounded by
seven other young men that took
him deep into the forest, forced him
to kneel and lie down for several
hours, beaten repeatedly with a machete before forcing him to cut his
thumb and lick his blood to complete the initiation with a warning
not to tell anyone or be ready to die.
However, since joining the group,
Nweke lamented that he has neverknown peace. They continuously
terrorised him by stealing his valuables whenever they wanted. Since
he could not challenge any of them,
he endured until the Anti-Cultism
Unit (ACU) of the FCT Police
Command arrested him alongside
the group members.
Nweke narrated his own story:
“My ordeal began sometimes in
January 2019. I became a cult member through my barbing shop at
Jahi District of Abuja. Some of my
friends who used to patronise me
are the ones that initiated me into
cultism.
“They used to come around especially when I was not barbing
anybody to gist with me. On that
day in January, one of them begged
me to escort him somewhere that
night at about 11 o’clock. Because I
did not suspect anything, I accepted
and promised to call him when I
closed for the day.
“I called him as promised and
went to meet him where he directed me to come, surprisingly very close
to a forest. I was afraid but never
suspected that he had such intention
or that such would happen to me.
Unfortunately, when I got there,
he called some people that I did
not know or ever met previously. I
saw strange faces I never met since
I started barbing there, numbering eight.
“They directed me to follow them
and I had to obey because I was
helpless. Knowing that they might
kill me should I start to defend myself, I complied and followed them.
We went inside the forest and the
next thing I saw them brought out
a bandana like handkerchief and ordered me to kneel down. I asked the
guy that invited me what was happening, you asked me to escort you
somewhere, but I can’t understand
what was happening.
“I told him that I never believed
he could do that to me. I asked him
what I have done to deserve such
wickedness. Subdued, I complied
and they blindfolded me and ordered me to lie down. They used
machete to flog me. All through the
flogging, they were chanting a song
and later directed me to kneel down
again, I did and they brought out a
sharp razor blade inflicted a deep
cut on my right thumb and ordered
me to lick the blood.
“Helplessly, I licked the blood.
They told me that I have been initiated and taken an oath to be a member of their cult group. They
warned that if I should tell anybody
what happened, they would kill
me. Since that day, I never went out
with them because I have a job I am
doing. Apart from barbing, I used
to draw tattoo on people’s body
because I have the machine in my
shop.
“Since they forcefully initiated
me and found that I was not interested in their group they have not
allowed me know peace. Sometimes they would come to my shop
to pick up my items like phone, laptop and other valuables and I could
not do anything. All I have is regret
having a friend like that.
“I was arrested by the police because people who know the guys
belong to a cult group told the police that they were always at my
place. People know them as cultists
because they used to fight in our
area and they told the police that I
used to follow them which was not
true.
“I have been a barber since 2008.
I was born in Enugu and I had my
primary school education here in
Abuja. I am not yet married and my
parents are in Enugu. I will really
feel bad if they get to find out my
predicament.”