Man jailed seven years for membership of secret society

Magistrate O.L. Oke of a Special Cultism Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Friday sentenced one Adebayo Saheed to seven years imprisonment for belonging to a secret society.

The defendant was arraigned on a one-count charge of membership of unlawful society.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Insp. Olaide Rawlings, told the court that the defendant committed the offence with five others still at large on July 7, 2023, at Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Rawlings said the defendant and his accomplices were sighted by the police behind Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic chanting songs.

“When they were accosted, five of them escaped and the defendant was caught.

”But he could not give reasons of what they were doing at that place and at that hour of the day

The defendant later made a confessional statement that he was a member of the Eiye Confraternity secret group,” the prosecutor added.

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The magistrate in his ruling held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the 21-year-old defendant.

Oke held that the evidence presented by the prosecution was tenable.

He, therefore, sentenced Saheed without an option of fine.

The magistrate said: “There is no doubt that there has been an increase in the occurrence of cult-related clashes in Ogun and the court must send a strong message to other would-be offenders.

“I hope this will serve as a lesson and warning to others not to commit such offence because there is no benefit in being a member of any proscribed society.”

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