Unlawful Coercion of Family Members Into Occultic Group After The Demise of Members, And its Attendant Consequences

Culturally in Nigeria traditional practice in recent times, forceful occultic membership of children of deceased members by succession has often times led to unending crisis in many families in several communities across the country owing several reasons while mainly based on religious beliefs.

While in developed and more sane climes, any membership of an occultic group by any individual ordinarily is considered to be by voluntary volition or choice usually without any form of coercion .

However, recent developments in Nigerian societies revealed that when deceased family member of an occultic group is pronounced dead, often times crisis of unlawful membership involving first-born children by succession into such an occultic group suddenly arises posing imminent danger and threats to the life of the children of such deceased member and immediate family members..

Often times, several families are further plunged into deepening crisis when confronted with issues relating to the request of a deceased member to have first-born children initiated by coercive means into the membership of an occultic group by succession usually against their will without considering the future implications such fetish process can bring about.

The dire consequences of such fetish practices of unlawful membership by succession in many families in different communities in Nigeria have not gone unnoticed as this often times has led to clear divisions in many families at the communal level while the unending crisis tends to assume a more dangerous dimensions when all avenues towards peaceful and amicable resolutions are entirely exhausted without any solution.

However, the case of Anemene Monday of Ugboha community in Esan South East local government area of Edo State, the administrative Headquarters of Ubiaja, was of immense focus when his immediate family was plunged into an unending crisis of who was to succeed his deceased father in the occultic group even when it is unconstitutionally unacceptable and illegal to coerce people into any membership of any occultic association or group without their prior consent.

Following the sudden death of Pa.Anemene Oriafo , his deceased father and leader of the Osokpikan Confraternity, an extremely dangerous occultic group in Edo State, there were reported cases of the sudden deaths of two of his brothers who took over but were however reported dead several months after taking up the role.

At first, the first son and eldest amongst his brothers was installed to replace his father’s position in the occultic group but was rather unfortunate as he was pronounced dead barely a year after taking up the role.

Sadly again, the second son who also took over the position was pronounced dead few months after he took up the role in the occultic group.

However for Monday Anemene, a tailor and father of four children in Ugboha community, life became unbearable and miserable following all the several death threats he was exposed to by members of the occult group who desperately wanted him to replace his elder brothers who earlier held the position in line with their deceased father’s request to have his sons take up his position and role in the occultic group in the event of his demise.

The members of the extremely dangerous occultic group were reported to have communicated his deceased father’s request to him(Monday) to replace the position his late father left behind in the occultic group following the inabilities of his two brothers to carry on owing to their sudden deaths.

This was to be carried out in accordance with their deceased father’s wish, which Monday vehemently rejected owing to his Christian faith.

In the face of obvious death threats to his life following several violent attacks on his life by members of the extremely dangerous occultic group, Monday Anemene was said to have reported the incident at the police station in company of other family members.

It was said that the several unending violent attacks on his life continued unabated after the incident of the several death threats were reported at the police station without any solution.

However, recent findings in Ugboha community revealed that Monday Anemene who was born on August 15th 1973 fled from the community on February 25th,2016 in desperate attempts to escape the violent wrath of members of the extremely dangerous occultic group who had earlier vowed to eliminate him (Monday Anemene) if he refused to take up his late father’s role in the occultic group or face the dire consequences of his actions which includes death by any means.