Ondo Youth Leader, Stakeholders Move to Curb Cult-Related Violence

The Ondo community has in recent times witnessed a disturbing rise in cult-related clashes, leading to multiple deaths and heightened security concerns.

In a special broadcast on Ondo Eki Chat Show, the Youth President of the Ondo Ekimogun Youth Congress, Engineer Kayode Folajogun, shed light on the root causes of the renewed violence.

According to him, the clashes trace back to a group of cultists who publicly renounced their membership in 2019 at the palace. At the time, over 1,800 individuals swore to abandon cultism and pledged never to kill or engage in violent activities again.

However, Engineer Folajogun explained that some of these renounced members later sought financial empowerment through drug peddling. Drug dealers, he said, began recruiting them for illicit operations, a development that eventually backfired, sparking a wave of retaliatory killings. Most of the victims, he noted, were youths.

Citing specific incidents, he referenced the killing of three persons at Ife Garage and further violence in the Moradayo area of Sabo, Ondo City. He named a notorious cultist known as Hammer and a feared armed robber, T Money, who allegedly joined forces to retaliate after T Money’s house was set ablaze.

In response to the rising tension, a town hall meeting was convened at the Oba Adesanoye Civic Centre. Present at the meeting were the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, security agencies, community chiefs, and some renounced cultists. The stakeholders resolved to halt drug trafficking in the community and to stop the recruitment of secondary school students into cult groups.

A seven-man committee was established to enforce the resolutions, followed by a rally across the town to publicly declare the new stance. It was agreed that any individual caught engaging in cultism or related crimes would face the full weight of the law. Security operatives have since intensified operations to identify and arrest core cult members, ensuring that convicted offenders serve their complete jail terms without interference.

Engineer Folajogun appreciated the efforts of the Osemawe of Ondo, his imperial majesty, Oba Dr. Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo, and the Oba-in-council, he also highlighted some successes recorded so far in the ongoing crackdown.

Speaking during the broadcast, Bode Fadoju, a sports coordinator, appealed to well-meaning members of the Ondo community and those in the diaspora to invest in youth empowerment initiatives as a sustainable means of addressing the problem.

Rounding off the program, the host, Princess Fadejogun Ade-Ayoola, urged parents to take responsibility for the proper upbringing of their children, noting that a disciplined home environment contributes significantly to a safer society.