Worried by the activities of cultists which is wreaking havoc traditional and other leaders in of various communities in Ogoni met at the palace of the Supreme ruler of Ogoni Traditional Council, Chief Godwin Giniwa at Sakpenwa, to find a lasting solution to the menace.
The meeting was attended by traditional rulers, elders, political office holders, elected representatives, title holderss, religious leaders, women and youth groups.
Many communities of oil rich Ogoni land, especially in Khana Local Government Area, are enmeshed with the activities of rival cult groups who kill and maim one another.
According to reports about 60 persons especially members of rival cult groups were said to have lost their lives in the last one month in the area.
In a communiqué at the end of the meeting the leaders gave a 14-day ultimatum to cultists operating in the area to repent and submit themselves to traditional oath-taking in their respective communities. Failure to do that, they said, would lead to the person being ostracized.
The leaders also resolved that traditional and community leaders, including youth leaders who fail to expose the identities of perpetrators or fail to administer the traditional oaths on their subjects would not only be deposed but treated as accomplices.
The communiqué was signed by His Majesty, King G.N.K. Gininwa, Senator (Dr) Bennett Birabi, Chief Kenneth Kobani, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, Ledum mitee and HRH, Godwin Bebe Okpabi, among others
Dedicated telephone numbers were also made available across the four Local Government Areas e for people to send credible information on any threats to security in their area.
“We also resolve to send a high powered delegation of the Ogoni leadership to urgently meet with the government to seek their necessary support to drive the peace process, and in particular, with a view to setting up a Special Task Force to track down and appropriately deal with any person that further engages in such nefarious activities.
“We further resolved to convene a meeting with all youth leaders and youth groups to get their buy in and perspectives and thereafter hold another congress, in no distant future, to reappraise the situation as well as address other issues affecting our people”, they said.
The leaders urged Ogonis to be vigilant and “join the new spirit of unity of purpose being ushered into Ogoni land”.
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