In a verdict passed by the Ogun Special Cultism Court in Abeokuta on Wednesday, 22-year-old Adewale Adenekan has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his involvement in a secret society.
Residing at No. 3, Olaoluwa Close, Arigbanla Arigbajo in Ifo, Ogun, Adenekan was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy and membership of an unlawful society.
Magistrate Mr. O.L. Oke, affirmed that the prosecution successfully demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt the defendant’s guilt. He deemed the evidence presented as credible and imposed a seven-year prison term on Adenekan without the option of a fine.
Addressing the court, Oke emphasized the need to deter others from engaging in cult-related activities, stressing the surge in such clashes in Ogun. He underscored the court’s obligation to send a resounding message against such criminal behavior, hoping it would serve as a deterrent to potential offenders.
The prosecutor, Inspector Olaide Rawlings, revealed that the convict was implicated when some of his associates were apprehended during a cult altercation on November 6, 2023, in Arigbajo, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun. Adenekan confessed to being a member of the Eiye Confraternity.
The offence contravened Section 45(b) and 35(b) of the Prohibition of Forcible Occupation of Landed Property, Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, Cultism and Other Anti-Violence Related Matters Law of 2016.
In a related development, in a bid to address the escalating menace of cult-related violence in Sagamu, the Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, and the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, announced an amnesty deal for repentant cultists in the state. Forty-eight members of various cult groups, predominantly Eiye Confraternity and Aiye, have renounced their membership and surrendered illegal firearms to the police for confiscation. Alamutu warned that failure to seize the amnesty opportunity would result in severe consequences for cultists caught thereafter.
