CAMPAIGN AGAINST CULTISM: OGUN LAWMAKERS URGE POLICE ADVOCACY TEAM TO EXEND SCOPE BEYOND SCHOOLS

Members of the Ogun State House of Assembly have tasked the 'Stop Crime Team Nigeria', an umbrella of the 'Police Campaign Against Cultism and other Vices (POCACON)' initiated by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to extend its advocacy activities to the different groups and government agencies including schools to effectively tackle the menace of cultism and other criminal activities involving the teenagers and youth in general.

The members led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, gave the charge while playing host to POCACON team led by the National Coordinator and an Assistant Commissioner of Police Olabisi Okuwobi, during an advocacy visit to the State lawmakers at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The Speaker commended the team for adopting alternative means of discouraging the youth from engaging in cultism and other crimes, saying that the task required the support of all and sundry.

In their remarks, Honourables Damilare Bello, Babatunde Tella, Yusuf Amosun, Folawewo Salami and Omolola Bakare identified failure on the part of parents and peer influence from schools were parts of what caused the social vices among youth.

They disclosed that the menace had become rampant even within the primary school level as well as the informal sector of the economy as motorcycle riders, butchers, commercial drivers and artisans now belonged to different violent cult groups constituting nuisance within the society.

They applauded the Inspector General of Police for the initiative in tackling the menace via advocacy campaign rather than the use of force.

Ealier in her presentation, the National Coordinator of POCACON, ACP Okuwobi  stated that the police force had discovered that most criminals arrested always   had their roots in one cult group or the other, stressing the need for community engagements through advocacy.

She noted that the process would go through renunciation, disarmaments and rehabilitation to reduce cultist activities and other criminalities in the society.

Meanwhile, the Speaker also led his co-lawmakers to play host to the Executive Members of the State Chapter of the Christians Association of Nigeria ( CAN) led by Rt. Rev'd. Emmanuel Adekunle, where more areas of collaboration were discussed; especially on the need to further assist the faithful in all parts of the State through networking, welfarism and other empowerment programmes.