Twenty-two-year old Okosun Pascal, the leader of Aiye Confraternity in Ekpoma, Edo State, has revealed how he was initiated into the cult, saying that it was a condition given to him before he would be shown how to become a Yahoo guy.
The graduate of English in the Faculty of Education, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, opened up that his group was in possession of two AK-47 rifles and three pump action guns, but said it had never had any clash with rival cults.
Pascal and 10 other suspected cultists, who were among other suspects paraded last Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, were arrested by the Intelligence Response Team operatives in Ekpoma, Edo State, following reports on their nefarious activities within the area.
According to the FPRO, the suspects admitted to belonging to an unlawful society, specifically the Black Axe Confraternity (aka Aiye).
CSP Adejobi gave the names of the other suspects as Michael Ehineboh (24), Aneto Israel (22), Uhomogiwan Destiny (24), Bello Sunday (20), Eramoh Akhere (27), Osagie Adamson (22), Okoruwa Christian (24), Edoghogho Wellington, from Esan Local Government Area, as well as 20-year-old Momoh Kingsley from Estako West LGA and Chukwu Chukwuemeka, aged 24, from Nkanu West LGA in Enugu State.
Except Pascal who is already a graduate, 20 others were said to be undergraduates in the university.
Items recovered from them were two AK-47 rifles, three pump action guns, a locally-made pistol, two AK-47 magazines, 22 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, 17 rounds of 5.56mm K2 ammunition and three live cartridges.
In an interview with the Newsmen, Pascal, who had his convocation ceremony in July, said: “It is true that I’m a cultist. I joined Neo Black Movement of Africa, known as Black Axe/Aiye Confraternity, in 2020. There were some guys senior to me in Ekpoma. I approached one of them who was very nice to me.
“I noticed he was a Yahoo guy. I told him I wanted to be like him, that he should show me the way. But he replied that I would need to join Black Axe Confraternity before he could let me know how to go about the Yahoo thing. Of course, I accepted his proposal so that I can learn from him.”
When asked why he decided to be a Yahoo guy knowing that it is against the law, Okosun replied: “That was the only way I could take care of my family. My father and mother had been separated for close to 10 years and I’m the first child and first son, so Yahoo was the only thing I could do to take care of my mother and siblings.”
While speaking on how he was initiated, he said,
“I was taken into the bush where I met different people that I had never seen before. We were very many but I couldn’t count because they didn’t want us to know what was going on. It was in March, 2020, at about 12 midnight.
“They told us black life history; how the whites made the blacks to suffer. They tortured us by flogging us with horsewhip. There were lacerations on us but no blood covenant. I had no choice other than to go through all, moreso they didn’t tell us what they were going to do to us before the initiation. Since I joined, I have never been involved in any clash with rivals.”
Speaking about how they got into police net
“I was arrested on my graduation day. There was a friend of mine, Daniel, who had been arrested before my graduation. During the ceremony, we were discussing outstanding issues among ourselves when Daniel brought police to my graduation to arrest me. He had said he would arrest the people aligning power. By then , I was Number One, the head of the Confraternity in our area because I was an indigene of the town. As I graduated, I called for volunteers to come for my graduation.”
Speaking about how they got guns recovered from them
“They were handed over to us by our past leaders. Personally, I didn’t have any gun but we have five in our cult – two AK-47 rifles and three pump action guns.”
Another suspect, Destiny, who is from Uromi and in the Faculty of Agriculture in the same university, also spoke with the Nigerian Tribune.
According to him, ”I joined cultism when I was in my second year and became the Secretary General of my faculty. That was when members of Aiye cult group came to me, saying that I was intelligent and I could become the president.
“They told me that I would follow them to a party and later become a full member, but I later discovered that it was not a party but a group of boys in the bush for initiation. There was no way I could reject because there was serious torture throughout the night.
“At the beginning, I was just a member until I got to second semester in year four and they made me Number Three. They gave me the guns to keep in the bush.”
