This investigation was conducted by SBM and not Theportcitynews.com.
BACKGROUND
Since the end of military rule in Nigeria in 1999, gang activities and the corresponding violence have seen a gradual but steady increase in Rivers state, in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. From the formation of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity (SVC) in the early 1980s at the University of Port Harcourt, various criminal gangs known as cults have sprung up in different parts of the state, with varying membership strengths, and holding different stretches of territory within the state.
Prominent amongst the more than 100 cult groups known to operate in the state are the Deewell, Deebam, Icelanders, Greenlanders, Gberesaako Boys, and the Outlaws. These cult groups individually and collectively have constituted a menace to the inhabitants of the state, causing an incalculable human and economic loss in the process. In the first decade of the century, some of these cult groups began to morph into militancy, blurring the line between groups that had always been militants and those who leveraged the organization the cult groups gave to engage in militancy. They ended up waging war against the oil industry for years, reducing Nigeria’s oil production output. To keep the oil flowing, the government eventually created an amnesty programme for repentant militants which still runs till this very day. Since the reason for the formation of these cult groups and the socio-economic and sociopolitical issues which ensure their growth remains prominent within the society, these violent groups continue to exist and pose a serious threat to lives and property and the general development of Rivers State. As is usual with such groups that control territory, they have become integral in the politics of the state, and this has made some of the groups very powerful. It is this melting pot of socio-economics, politics, history, intertribal conflict and violent agitation for resource control that brings a unique bent to the cult issue in Rivers State.
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