ASIGIDI AND OWEGBE SECRET CULT
Nigeria: Information on the Asigidi and Owegbe cult: who they are; where in Nigeria they are located; and whether they practice satanic or evil rituals
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 11 October 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | NGA37789.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Nigeria: Information on the Asigidi and Owegbe cult: who they are; where in Nigeria they are located; and whether they practice satanic or evil rituals, 11 October 2001, NGA37789.E, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be8210.html [accessed 23 June 2017] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Sources consulted by the Research Directorate refer to the Asigidi and Owegbe as a cult or society in Edo State and other state in Nigeria
Newswatch, a Nigerian weekly news magazine, carried an article on the sex trade in Nigeria that described the Asigidi and Owegbe as several "powerful secret societies" to which some girls who return from working as prostitutes in Italy belong:
The girls also belong to powerful secret societies, among them "Asigidi" and "Owegbe" through which they flaunt their social connections and wealth. Nobody who crosses a member's path is ever spared the ordeal of at least two days in detention at the Criminal Investigation Department, CID, Benin.
Said Nosa Osagiede, a secondary school teacher in Benin: "It's very easy for a member to deal with you. She goes to the CID and tells a policeman: You have to handle one fellow for me, officer. I am an Akatarian". "Akatarian" is the popular term in Benin for one who has been to Europe, particularly Italy, and made so much money. The Akatarian girl gives the officer the address of the "offender" and some dollars and he does her bidding (27 July 1999).
In a 1999 newsletter, the Center for the Study of World Religions published a speech given by a professor of church history at the University of Nigeria, which described the Owegbe cult and Asigidi as an example of a modern-day representation of village "base communities" (24 Feb. 1999). The professor stated that "in traditional societies, power and authority were sacralized and ritualized with symbols and hedged with secret cults. These mobilized the political elite and substantiated the theory of obligation," giving communities a sense of legitimacy (ibid.). In the present day, "protagonists legitimate their adventure by posing as representatives of their village base communities," thereby "rooting themselves in the sacralized power structures and secret cults" (ibid.). These cults are therefore used to "mobilize the political elite as foot soldiers of ethnic interests and warfare," and cults such as the Owegbe enable access to wealth, economic opportunities and power (ibid.).
An Africa News article referred to a vigilante group that the Edos in Edo State may establish called the Asigidi and Owegbe Vigilante Outfit (8 July 2001).
Information of the Asigidi and Owegbe Cult in Nigeria, they do practice evil, do ritual and use human for sacrifice. They are very deadly and highly connected in Nigeria and even in Italy.
References
Africa News. 8 July 2001. "Point of Order: When Smith Can't Sleep." (AllAfrica/NEXIS)
Center for Study of World Religions, Harvard University, Boston, Massachussets. 24 February 1999. Ogbu Kalu. "Harsh Flutes: On the Legitimacy Crisis in Nigeria." [Accessed 3 October 2001]
Newswatch [Lagos]. 27 July 1999. Olu Ojewale, Doyin Adegbulugbe and Joris Casteren. "Sex Export."[Accessed 3 October 2001]
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
Africa Confidential 1999-2001-10-03
Africa Research Bulletin 1999-2001
NEXIS
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
Federation of American Scientists
Human Rights Watch
newafrica.com
Nigeria Daily
Nigeria News
Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration and Refugee Board of Ca
- ASIGIDI AND OWEGBE CULT IN NIGERIA
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