Black Axe Initiating New Members in Lagos As Unogbokhi Modu, Adekunle Resistance Declared Wanted.

Cultists in Lagos State have recently turned to rampant cult initiations.

A young man, Mr. Smart Modu, shared how his friend invited him to a meeting that led to his initiation into a cult in Lagos State, Nigeria.

In a harrowing tale, Mr. Modu recounted how an innocent meeting turned into an unforeseen ordeal, culminating in his initiation into a cult group called Black Axe without his knowledge.

Mr. Smart Modu narrated this story to Pressman "that he was coerced into joining the cult during a meeting at Jakande Estate, Ajah, Lagos State. He alleged that guns and cutlasses were used to intimidate him and his friend, Adekunle Shola, during the initiation process simply because they refused to respond to the group’s demands.

According to Mr. Modu, the invitation from a friend seemed like an ordinary social gathering filled with music and laughter. However, as the evening progressed, he was led to a secluded area under the guise of a friendly conversation. To his horror, the interaction turned into a ritualistic activity with chants and instructions, leaving him confused and scared.

Despite his protests, he was coerced into unknowingly taking an oath that marked his initiation into the cult.

He expressed shock and regret, emphasizing that he had no prior knowledge of the group’s activities or intentions. He has since taken steps to dissociate himself from the cult and is sharing his story as a cautionary tale.

This incident sheds light on the growing problem of unsuspecting young people being lured into cult activities under false pretenses. Instead of focusing on youth-driven development, many are consumed with destructive personal vendettas that hinder progress and divide communities.

Mr. Modu revealed that since refusing to engage in the cult’s “evil plans,” his life has been under threat. He has received numerous threatening calls, forcing him into hiding.

He said the cult members viewed him as a young, brilliant, and ebullient man whom they planned to use as a strong member of the Black Axe group, which he firmly refused to join.

On the 8th of September, 2024, Mr. Modu Smart Unogbokhi  who was born and brought up in Ibadan, Oyo state, later relocated to Lagos state for living as a young man coming up for survival,

shared his ordeal with a correspondent from Esanland Update Magazine, a crime reporter, how cultists surrounded his family house, firing sporadically into the air,  beating him to studpoor and he managed to escaped, and they sent a notice to his father, Chief Unogbokhi Joseph who has been battling illness for years.

Mr. Modu reported the case to the police, but no significant action was taken. “When the attempts on my life became frequent, I fled Lagos to Kano State, where my uncle resides. My friend Adekunle Shola also relocated to a nearby community to stay with a friend,” he said.

However, after a few days, his uncle, Samuel Unogbokhi, began receiving threatening letters, worsening the situation.

“It felt like I was on their radar, with no hiding place,” Modu added.

The trauma from the attacks has devastated his family, leaving them grief-stricken. Tragically, the stress contributed to the death of his father, Chief Unogbokhi Joseph.

“The police seemed compromised and took no action. It felt like there was a price tag on my head.”

This tragic case remains one of many unresolved incidents of criminality in the country.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi, vowed that the command would not relent in its efforts to rid the state of members of these unlawful societies.

He called on parents to have heart-to-heart talks with their children, male and female alike, about the evil consequences of belonging to cult groups.

He thanked Lagosians for always providing the command with information about the activities of these outlaws and solicited more cooperation.

The Lagos State Police Command recently arrested a group of cultists carrying out new initiations into a newly formed secret confraternity named The New Black Movement of Africa, a breakaway faction of the AIYE cult group. The arrest occurred at about midnight at Jakande Estate, Ajah, Lagos State.

A statement by the command's spokesperson, CSP Chike Oti, revealed that one of the recruits, who couldn’t endure the torture and initiation rites, bolted for his dear life and ran to his mother’s house at Jakande Estate, Ajah. Alarmed by his apparent show of cowardice and fearing he might report them to the police, the group chased him to his mother’s residence and began beating everyone in sight while simultaneously robbing residents of the estate who had been woken up by the commotion.

Fortunately, the boy’s mother managed to sneak out of the house and place a distress call to the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Ilasan Division, CSP Onyinye Onwuamaegbu. The DPO led a contingent of policemen to the estate and arrested eleven members of the group, all males: Godwin Victor, Benjamin Daniel, Saviour Anioffiong, Lawal Ibrahim, Sodiq Olawuyi, Segun Fagbohun, Bashiru Lawal, Chinedu Francis, Wahab Adams, and Ifarinde Adeniyi.

The police team recovered the following items from the suspects: one locally made shotgun, four live cartridges, three cutlasses, one sledge hammer, ten horsewhips, and assorted charms.

In a related development, two notorious cultists, Rasheed Yusuf, a.k.a. Radical, and Abel Okwo, were arrested during a supremacy battle between the Aiye and Eiye confraternities at Akerele Street, Oworonshoki.

Notably, Abel Okwo had been charged to court two months earlier for cult-related offenses, only to return and resume terrorizing the town.