As war against violent crimes yields results, NDDC moves fight against drugs, cultism to classrooms

Militancy and violence which took a new turn in 2005 when the first gun was shot at the Marine Base on August 15 of that year was eventually blamed on pervasive drugs use and presence of cult groups in the Niger Delta region. The violence went on to cause exodus of foreigners and oil engineers, further leading to the decline of investments in the region.

Other crimes such as election violence, kidnapping, armed attacks, etc, are said to feed on the twin menace of drugs abuse and cultism.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the foremost interventionist agency and a development facilitator, which is believed to have worked hard to integrate the youths of the region into the path of progress, has taken concrete steps to win back the youths by not only weaning them off drugs and cultism but to track the double menace to schools where the evil seed is believe to start. They have gone from school to school to confront the breeding centres where innocent youths get their first encounter with the vices. Oruma, a town in Bayelsa State, is one of the stop point of the NDDC team.

The students who filled the assembly hall of the Community Secondary School, Oruma, weren’t expecting the police or the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Neither were they expecting a lecture on prison terms.

But that’s how the NDDC is fighting its newest battle: not with contracts or concrete, but with conversations. The target is drug abuse and cultism. The front line is the region’s secondary schools.

According to officials accompanying the team, the campaign starts with what is regarded as hard truth from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Godwin Erepa, Assistant State Commander of the NDLEA in Bayelsa State, told students at Oruma that there’s a “strong link between drug abuse and cultism”.

He went on: “Cultists often rely on drugs to commit violent acts, manipulate peers, and engage in criminal behavior.”

He stressed that “drug abuse affects everyone. He condemned cultism as unlawful and destructive”.

For NDDC, the connection is strategic. The Commission believes that drug abuse fuels the violence that destabilises communities. Cultism drains the youth pipeline that should feed farms, tech hubs, and small businesses (SMEs). Both undercut the Commission’s investments in infrastructure, agriculture, and enterprise. This is said to affect supply of labour force greatly because, most young persons expected to carry out jobs may be controlled by negative influences.

The sensitisation isn’t just moral. It’s legal. Iroro Ohwoharhoho, an Inspector with the Nigerian Police, Bayelsa State Command, laid out the consequences: “Cultism is a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment”.

His warning to students was blunt: “Convictions leave lasting negative records that could ruin future opportunities”.

He added, “It is referred to as a secret cult because it is a bad and demonic act, which is why it is conducted in secret.”

The message: cultism isn’t a rite of passage. It’s a criminal record.

That is the message the NDDC is drumming up as part of efforts to curb cultism and drug abuse among youths, through a sensitisation campaign aimed at promoting peace and responsible living among students in Bayelsa State.

The campaign was held in all the NDDC mandate States of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers. The grand finale was held in Bayelsa State across four Local Government Areas.

In Bayelsa State, it began from Community Secondary School, Yiba-Ama Community (also known as Oruma) in Ogbia Local Government Area, BDGS Yenagoa, in Yenagoa LGA, Tarakiri Community Secondary School, Ayama-Ijaw in Southern Ijaw and Ijaw National Academy in Kolokuma Opokuma Local Government Area.

This is as part of the Commission’s ongoing initiative to educate secondary school students on the dangers of cultism, drug abuse, and other social vices.

The NDDC chose Community Secondary School, Oruma, for the programme, and the reception shows why. Sunny-Obi Julius, the principal, expressed gratitude to NDDC for choosing the school for the sensitisation programme. He encouraged students to eschew cultism and drug abuse, reiterating that there is no future in such practices.

Experts say the right logic for the war against drugs abuse and cultism should be prevention.

They say by the time NDLEA or the Police meet youths on the streets, options have narrowed. In classrooms, the Commission can reach them before recruitment, before addiction, before the first arrest, officials said.

The campaign is said to align with NDDC’s pivot toward human capital. Samuel Ogbuku, the NDDC Managing Director, has tied agriculture to peace and security in the Niger Delta region.

The anti-drug and anti-cultism drive is said to be the other half of that equation. “You can fund farms and release N10bn to entrepreneurs through the region’s chamber of commerce (NDCCITMA), but if the youth pipeline is lost to drugs, the investments won’t stick”, he said.

Cultism in the Niger Delta has a history: campus confraternities that spilled into communities, militancy that recruited through brotherhoods, and violence that followed oil money. Drug abuse is found to be the accelerant.

The experiment:

Insiders said NDDC’s campaign is testing whether early, direct engagement can break the cycle. No budget figure has been announced for the programme. The currency here is attention. Police in uniform. NDLEA commanders with data. Principals telling students that the Commission sees them.

Speaking during the event, Ogbuku, represented by Goddy Ogedegbe, the Director of the Department of Alternative Dispute Resolution, said the programme was designed to strengthen human capital development and to guide students away from activities that could destroy their future.

Ogbuku urged students to resist peer pressure and avoid involvement in drugs or secret cult groups. He emphasised that such practices cut short dreams, endanger lives, and hold no progressive future for anyone who indulges in them.

He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to education and human capital development, stressing its determination to build a Niger Delta free from drugs and cultism.

The Managing Director noted that the Commission’s vision extends beyond the construction of roads and bridges to the development of a generation of responsible and credible leaders who will drive the Niger Delta region’s development.

Ogbuku observed that the programme was aimed at combating the rising trends of illicit drug use and youth involvement in cult activities. He urged youths in the region to desist from drug abuse and cultism, describing the menaces as twin evils that can destroy their future. Many families have lost their young ones to the twin menace. Some youths have abandoned school while some others have been killed in attacks, yet, others are languishing in jail.

Delivering a lecture on the link between drug abuse and cultism among students, Godwin, the Assistant State Commander of the NDLEA, Bayelsa Command, warned that drug abuse often leads to serious health complications, poor academic performance, criminal behaviour, and involvement in cult-related activities. He urged students to stay away from illicit substances and focus on their education.

Also speaking, Oworihowo, an Inspector and representative of the Nigeria Police Force, Bayelsa State Command, who enlightened the students on the legal implications of cultism, stressed that cultism remains a criminal offence under Nigerian law and warned that offenders risk arrest and prosecution.

He encouraged the students to remain law-abiding and concentrate on their studies to become worthy ambassadors of Bayelsa State.

Principals of the participating schools thanked the NDDC for the timely initiative and expressed appreciation to the NDDC for selecting their schools for the sensitisation programme.

They described the initiative as beneficial and urged the students to apply the lessons learned in their daily lives.

The event also featured a special talk by a Psychologist, Blessing Jacob-Timothy, on Cultism, Stress, and Mental Health Among Students, as well as a presentation of the Peace Ambassador Award and Certificate to the school by the representative of McMatthy Nigeria Limited, Aye Obualla.

The sensitisation campaign was highlighted by renewed commitment by students, teachers, and stakeholders to promote peace, shun drugs, reject cultism, and build a safer learning environment. The students seemed to have been touched by the avalanche of advice and counsels poured on them. They seemed to understand the depth of the crisis and the huge damage it is causing in the country, especially the oil region.

Experts said regions with higher disposable income seem to be more prone to addiction to drugs and are easily converted to cultism to gain more power and influence, something the experts said were a façade.

Background:

Records indicate that drug abuse and cultism are deeply intertwined twin menaces plaguing the Niger Delta. This is heavily linked to local crimes such as kidnapping, militancy, and gang violence. Criminal elements frequently use substances like cannabis, tramadol, and cocaine to embolden themselves before carrying out violent activities.

The region consistently records substance abuse rates that surpass the national average, deeply affecting both secondary school students and out-of-school youths.

The majority of violent crimes, including armed robbery, oil infrastructure vandalism, and cult-related killings, are believed to be driven by substance intoxication. Police sources and those in correctional facilities reveal that most youths involved in violent crimes usually sober up soon after they have been arrested and there are clear from any influence. Some are said to break down in tears, begging for forgiveness.

Yet, there are huge legal repercussions. Cultism remains an outlawed felony in Nigeria, carrying prison sentences of up to 10 years upon conviction, alongside permanent negative criminal records.

Various agencies and organisations including NDLEA, have continued to launch countermeasures and interventions, one of which is sensitisation campaigns. That is why the NDDC and local state governments (such as the Drug Free Delta initiative) are actively hosting anti-cultism and drug sensitisation drives in secondary schools to dissuade youths.

It is believed that such measures should go ahead for those that want to exploit the last minute measures before law enforcement would follow. State police commands and the NDLEA conduct regular intelligence-led raids on illegal initiation grounds and syndicate hideouts, yielding significant arrests and arms recoveries.

There are rehabilitation and empowerment measures. State actors and private organisations (like Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited) are prioritising rehabilitation programmes paired with vocational and skill acquisition to provide youths with alternative, legal income.

Parents are also being encouraged to pay closer attention to their wards because no matter what external bodies do, the fundamentals can only be administered at home through vigilance, observations, early talks when the children have not grown out of control, and call for support from social support groups such extended families leaders, age grades, churches, and schools.

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