Description

"Secret societies or cults exist in Nigeria but, by their nature, very little is known about them. The most widely reported and studied is the Ogboni cult. Some cults are linked to particular villages, some to ethnic communities and/or political groups. Membership of a cult may be advantageous to a person or his family as a means to social integration and to obtain access to resources. There is usually no forced recruitment into cults but individuals may feel pressured to join because of the advantages of being part of the cult. Membership of cults is not open to everyone but only to individuals from highly regarded families. Those families who traditionally have had the authority to invite new members to join their cult would choose the most suitable candidate. If this person should not wish to join and if there is no other candidate from his or her particular family, he or she might be ostracised and might also lose property or an inheritance, but would not have to fear for his or her life.

Secret cults are widely believed to be attributed with supernatural powers and are feared because of this. If a member of a cult wished to leave, this would not necessarily result in an adverse reaction or persecution. It is possible, however, that a former member of a cult may provoke an adverse reaction from society members, if the person concerned divulged secret information to outsiders about the society. Some secret cults have engaged in animal sacrifice. Human sacrifices for ritual purposes or cannibalism happen extremely rarely. There are no reports of any examples of cult members killing non-cult members."