By ALO 360 Editorial Board
The horrifying video circulating on social media, where a supposed part-time student of the University of Benin was shot in a GLK Mercedes-Benz in front of the university’s main gate, is yet another piece of evidence that cultism is a menace that deserves to be uprooted from our campuses.
UNIBEN has been notorious for cult activities, and it is very disheartening that no real measures have been taken to curb them. For the context, a video available online showed that a group of students had clashed on the university’s main campus, with one going into his car to bring out a machete in an attempt to butcher the opponent. After that incident, the story of the murder of the student at the main gate surfaced online.
The institution was quick to exonerate itself from the killing. In a statement issued by Benedicta Ehanire, the school’s registrar, UNIBEN said that the deceased is not their student and the shooting does not involve any of its staff or students.
Sequel to the statement by the university, Ven. Egbenusi Osazee, the chaplain of the All Saints Chapel of the school, who was the chairman of the school’s Cult Renunciation, Reconciliation, Reformation, Rehabilitation, and Interfaith Committee (CR4IC), resigned with immediate effect, citing negligence by the university authority in implementing the committee’s recommendations.
In a letter of resignation addressed to the UNIBEN vice chancellor, Professor Edoba Bright Omoregie, SAN, the clergy alleged that he had sent videos of the recent shooting to the vice chancellor to intimate him and also call for urgent security attention, but the vice chancellor threatened him to delete the video with immediate effect, saying he would report the clergy to the Anglican Communion authority.
Cultism has been a major challenge in Edo state in general, and not just UNIBEN, but it becomes more worrisome when an ivory tower, such as the prestigious University of Benin, is constantly in the news because of cult activities.
BIGGER SOCIETAL PROBLEM
The Edo State Government has, admittedly, taken steps to confront the growing menace. Through the Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) Law 2025, the government now prescribes stiff penalties, including life imprisonment for cult-related crimes and death sentences where fatalities occur. The law also targets sponsors and landlords who harbour cultists, while security operatives under the “Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers” initiative have demolished buildings allegedly linked to cult activities and arrested suspects across parts of Benin City.
These measures, though commendable, remain inadequate if they only address the symptoms without confronting the deeper institutional and societal roots of the problem. Demolishing buildings after killings have happened cannot replace proactive intelligence, campus security reform, youth reorientation, and institutional accountability. Cultism did not suddenly emerge in Edo State; it has thrived for decades because many institutions looked away while it quietly grew into a violent subculture.
The management of the University of Benin must therefore stop treating cult-related incidents as mere public relations crises to be managed with carefully worded statements. Whether the deceased was a registered student or not does not erase the frightening reality that violent clashes linked to cultism continue to occur around the university environment with disturbing frequency. A university serious about protecting its image must first protect human lives and the integrity of its academic environment.
More troubling are the allegations raised by Ven. Egbenusi Osazee, following his resignation from the university’s anti-cultism committee. If indeed recommendations aimed at tackling cultism were ignored, then the institution has serious questions to answer. Universities cannot claim ignorance while cult groups openly recruit, intimidate, clash, and operate around campuses. Silence, denial, and weak enforcement only embolden criminal networks.
NATIONAL TRAGEDY
But beyond UNIBEN and Edo State lies a bigger national tragedy. Cultism is no longer just a campus problem; it has become a reflection of a wider moral collapse in Nigerian society. While young people in other parts of the world compete in artificial intelligence, robotics, medicine, software engineering, and scientific innovation, many Nigerian youths remain trapped in the primitive cycle of cult violence, machetes, guns, bottles, drugs, and territorial supremacy. This is not merely a security issue. It is a crisis of values.
Too many young people now grow up in an environment where success is measured by flashy cars, social dominance, internet fraud, violent reputation, and the number of women around them. The Benz has become more attractive than the books. Intimidation now earns faster respect than intellect. Social media further glorifies reckless lifestyles while hard work, scholarship, discipline, and innovation struggle for attention.
Families are failing. Communities are failing. Institutions are failing. And when society consistently celebrates wealth without questioning its source, young people begin to believe that power matters more than purpose.
Nigeria cannot build globally competitive universities while campuses remain battlegrounds for cult supremacy. Parents cannot continue to send children to school only to fear whether they will return alive. Academic communities are meant to nurture ideas, not violence.
UNIBEN, as one of Nigeria’s most respected universities, must take the lead in reversing this dangerous culture. The institution needs stronger campus surveillance, deeper collaboration with security agencies, protection for whistleblowers, aggressive counselling and rehabilitation programmes, and zero tolerance for cult-related activities — no matter who is involved.
The fight against cultism must also move beyond arrests after tragedy strikes. It must involve sustained moral reorientation, youth empowerment, quality education, and leadership that inspires ambition beyond violence and materialism.
A society that normalises cultism today may wake up tomorrow to find that violence has become its dominant language. Nigeria’s young people deserve better than a future defined by fear, bloodshed, and criminal brotherhoods masquerading as power.
