, initiated by Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, to broaden its anti-cultism campaign to include schools and other community groups.){kind=link}
Members of the Ogun State House of Assembly have urged the ‘Stop Crime Team Nigeria’, operating under the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACON), initiated by Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, to broaden its anti-cultism campaign to include schools and other community groups.
The assembly members, led by Speaker Oludaisi Elemide, made this appeal during a visit from the POCACON team headed by National Coordinator, Assistant Commissioner of Police Olabisi Okuwobi, at the Assembly Complex in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta on Wednesday.
Elemide praised POCACON’s proactive approach to discouraging youths from criminal activities, emphasizing the importance of collective efforts in tackling such societal issues.
Other assembly members, including Honourables Damilare Bello, Babatunde Tella, Yusuf Amosun, Folawewo Salami, and Omolola Bakare, highlighted parental neglect and negative peer influence within schools as major contributing factors to youth involvement in cultism.
They expressed concern about the growing prevalence of cult activities at primary school levels and within informal sectors, including motorcycle riders, butchers, commercial drivers, and artisans, who have increasingly joined violent cult groups, creating significant challenges within communities.
The legislators also commended the Inspector General of Police for addressing the issue through education and advocacy rather than using force.
ACP Olabisi Okuwobi, in her address, revealed that police investigations consistently link arrested criminals back to cult affiliations. She stressed the importance of community engagement through structured advocacy, stating that the campaign would include phases of renunciation, disarmament, and rehabilitation to curb cultism and associated criminal behaviors.