Police launch campaign against cultism, other vices in Edo

The Edo State Police Command has launched “Police Campaign Against Cultism and other Vices (POCACOV)” as part of an effort to contain cultism and other vices.

Speaking during the launch, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Muhammed Dankwara, said the campaign was aimed at sensitising the public, especially youths and students, on the dangers of cultism and other vices, as well as to fight criminal elements and bring them to book.

Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Prof Lilian Salami, noted that cultism which had become a household name needed to be addressed holistically.

Represented by Mr Emmanuel Obarisiagbon, Associate Professor of Criminology, Prof Salami warned that, “If we do not do something about cultism now, it will move to the primary schools as it is already in secondary schools.”

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Salami listed ways to curb the menace to include surveillance, study and work initiatives in higher institutions, provision of recreational facilities and promotion of religious activities.

He further said, “For us in UNIBEN, we have set up a surveillance team that patrols the school premises. We also have informants who dress like students and feed us with information relating to cultism.

She noted that cultism affected the academic sector negatively as it led to poor academic performance, school drop outs and disruption of the academic calendar.