From Protectors to Predators: The Lives Lost to Lagos’ Anti-Cultism War

“Digbolu-Kolu.”

The name is synonymous with the forgotten victims of an anti-cultism war in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos, South West Nigeria. Launched in 2021 by the Chairman of Eti-Osa East Local Government, John Ogundare, the vigilante group made up of members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has since left a trail of human rights abuses. Behind the stories of ‘successes’ against cultism lies a grim reality of countless innocent lives lost.

When HumAngle got to the vigilantes’ station along Ado-Badore road in Ajah, a young man accused of cultism was being tortured.

“I am not a cultist,” he said, insisting on his innocence despite the beating. “Repeat after me,” instructed a Digbolu-Kolu officer, who crafted a narrative and forced the brutalised suspect to confess to alleged involvement in cultism. The coerced confession was then recorded as evidence to be presented to law enforcement agents. 

Asked if he was aware the Anti-Torture Act states that no person under investigation or held in custody should be subjected to any form of physical or mental torture, Olaide Taofik, leader of the local security outfit, told HumAngle they “were simply doing their job.”

This response offers a window into the experience of many youths whose rights have been violated by the vigilante group.

Missing victims

Family members of detainees, who assembled in front of the security outfit’s station, told HumAngle the Digbolu-Kolu cell was not only notorious for human rights violations, but there have also been cases of missing people. One of their victims, Sodiq Musiliudeen, a 30-year-old woodworker, was heading to a laundry shop to pick up his clothes when the vigilante group arrested him at Addo Roundabout on June 11. 

This marked the beginning of a desperate search as his whereabouts remain unknown to date. While the local security agents said Sodiq had since been handed over to the police for further investigation over alleged involvement in cultism, his relatives told HumAngle that efforts to find him in different police stations have been futile.

When HumAngle met with the victim’s elder brother, Idris, in August, there was a map of anguish drawn on his face. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he talked about Sodiq, whom he had raised like a son after their father died in 2001.

“When I got the call that Sodiq was arrested by Digbolu-Kolu, I was confused because I know him to be an easy-going person. On getting to the local security outfit station, I was told they found a gun on him and that they had handed him over to police,” he narrated.

When Idris insisted on seeing his brother, one of the officers demanded a ₦20,000 bribe from the family before informing them that Sodiq was handed over to men of the Nigeria Police Force at Ajiwe. But when the family got to Ajiwe, the police denied seeing him. They have since visited over 30 police stations across Lagos without a clue about Sodiq’s whereabouts. 

Feared dead

Idris believes the failure of Digbolu-Kolu to produce his younger brother raises the possibility that he was tortured to death.

“We are disturbed as a family, having been to different police stations. We also worried that regardless of the offence he might have committed, he should be granted access to his relatives and lawyers. With the antecedent of Digbolu-Kolu, we are not sure if he’s still alive,” he said.

The rumours about Sodiq’s death have also devastated his wife, Temitope, as she now has to fend for herself and their three children. 

“We have faced all forms of difficulties in the course of looking for my husband. Life has been difficult coping with three children, and I’ve got no helper. Our 11-year-old firstborn was supposed to write the last common entrance examination to proceed to secondary school, but I couldn’t afford that alone.  

“Even the other two are not getting the appropriate parental care due to the absence of their father. Though we heard different stories from different people — including some officials of Digbolu-Kolu that my husband has been killed — I don’t want to believe so,” she said.

During a fact-finding mission at the vigilante group’s office, HumAngle obtained a video of Sodiq ‘confessing’ to cultism while officers of the security outfit were torturing him. His confession might be a desperate attempt to end his agony as HumAngle observed several bruises on his body. 

“You’re a cultist,” an interrogator said after his massive fists descended upon Sodiq like a sledgehammer. 

Whenever Sodiq’s relatives visit the Digbolu-Kolu to insist on his innocence, they are confronted with his ‘confession’ video. Asked if he was aware confessions made under duress are inadmissible in court, a vigilante group member said they “wouldn’t have gotten any information from him if he was not treated in such a manner.”

Also, none of the officers claiming that Sodiq was handed over to the police could identify the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case. 

The OPC, from which many members of Digbolu-Kolu were drawn, was a vigilante group also notorious for fighting violence with violence in its early days. Its members were responsible for various human rights abuses and acts of violence in the South West, including the killing of unarmed civilians. 

Legal framework

Sodiq’s treatment violates local and international laws, including the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Also, Section 34 of Nigeria’s Constitution states that every person is entitled to respect for the dignity of their person and no person shall be subject to torture or inhuman treatment. 

While they are yet to be integrated into the local laws, Nigeria ratified the Convention against Torture (CAT) in 2001 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in 2009.

In addition to the above, the Anti-Torture Act, signed into law by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, forbids secret detention facilities, solitary confinement, and incommunicado detentions where torture may be carried out.

“This is a very serious issue and the LCDA chairman himself needs to be seriously questioned. If he set up a vigilante group, he should at least be able to supervise their activities,” said Mubin Anomo, a lawyer and human rights activist. 

“While it’s within his rights to secure his people with his own initiative, it becomes very irresponsible and outrageous to now have people missing. The role of any government is the security of lives and properties. Hence, you cannot tackle crime with crime. I am more afraid for the families of the victims. Even if the people they arrested are truly cult members, the families who are grieving now should be told what happened to their relatives and where they are.”

While the local security agents insisted that the missing suspect had been handed over to the police, HumAngle visited different police stations alongside Sodiq’s family members, but he was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Lagos Police Spokesperson Ben Hundeyin did not respond to enquiries about the matter. 

Also, Ogundare, chairman of Eti-Osa East LCDA, did not respond to HumAngle’s calls and repeated text messages on the allegations of condoning the alleged criminal activities.

Enforced disappearances

Many families in Nigeria have been thrown into trauma due to the heinous practice of enforced disappearances where suspects arrested by state actors or other local agents are no longer heard from.

While thousands of enforced disappearances have been documented, the actual figure remains unknown because many cases involving extrajudicial killings and detentions go unreported due to intimidation or lack of transparency.

“When people are arrested by state agents, without any trace of their whereabouts, and the state denies knowledge of where they are, their families are exposed to unthinkable suffering; they find it difficult to move on as they wait each day in anguish, hoping their loved ones’ return,” Osai Ojigho, former country director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said in August 2022. 

In October 2023, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances issued a report about the increase in acts of enforced disappearances in Nigeria and called on the government to “increase its efforts to ensure that any arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty conducted and concealed by State agents or by those acting with State authorisation are investigated immediately and that the alleged perpetrators are brought to justice.

Like Sodiq’s family members, the relatives of Tinatel Ikpe, who was arrested at Ilaje-Ajah, are left with unanswered questions, fear, and anxiety. According to Bisola, the victim’s wife, her husband’s whereabouts remain unknown since June 12. 

Digbolu-Kolu arrested Ikpe and ten other young people, and none of them have been found. 

“I have known my husband since 2021 and at no point was he involved in any atrocities. He is a well-known sand supplier in Ajah. He was about to close from work when he was arrested alongside his co-workers,” said Bisola as her hands constantly touched her belly.

While she’s happy about giving birth soon, she’s worried about the unborn child’s missing father. Her anxiety intensified as she spoke to HumAngle. 

“I have been to different police stations, including Panti and Kirikiri, but we are still yet to find him. My mother-in-law travelled from Ijaw (in Edo State), and we’ve been to several places. The Digbolu-Kolu agents that arrested him have failed to tell us my husband’s whereabouts,” she said. “The entire family is scared, and I am more disturbed about the unborn baby who will ask questions about his/her father. I want the man who impregnated me to hold our baby in his arms.”

‘Save our soul’ – Ajanaku family cries out

The whereabouts of Ajanaku Muritala remain unknown since Digbolu-Kolu arrested him at the Abraham Adesanya area of Ajah on June 9. He was accosted around 10 a.m. while on his way to assist a family member in packing items from her shop. 

At first, the Ajanakus thought Muritala would be released after a brief detention, not knowing the arrest was going to be the beginning of a nightmare. When the family visited the local vigilante group the following day, they were told that he had been handed over to the Police Tactical Team at Elemoro. 

“My mum went to the police station, and they denied having our brother in their custody. Later, we were told that his case was transferred to Ajiwe Station,” said Ahmed, the missing victim’s elder brother. “Some police officers and Digbolu-Kolu demanded ₦1 million ($600) from us, labeling Muritala an Eiye cult member. We thought the right thing to do was to charge him to court even if he’s a cultist as claimed, but we didn’t hear anything of such.”

When the Digbolu-Kolu and police stopped responding to the family’s plea, they charged Ahmed with the responsibility of visiting different police stations and prisons, but his attempts were unsuccessful. In the process of the search, a police officer’s statement broke his heart.

“Your brother might have been killed.” 

On June 25, the family petitioned the IGP Complaint Response Unit Force in Obalende, which responded swiftly and helped obtain Muritala’s confessional statement from the Elemoro police station. While this brought a glimmer of hope, it came with a price for Ahmed as he began to receive threats from unknown numbers, warning him and other family members to back off.

By virtue of Section 3(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, police officers and individuals making arrests on behalf of law enforcement agents are mandated to inform the person arrested of his rights to remain silent or avoid answering any question until after consultation with a legal practitioner or any other person of his choice. This was, however, not respected in the case of Muritala, as he was not allowed to consult his counsel or any family members. 

“Even after we retrieved his confessional statement, the police continued to deny that they didn’t know his whereabouts, which shows something fishy between the Digbolu-Kolu agents and the police. It’s been three months, and the family has not gotten further updates from the IGP complaint unit,” Ahmed told HumAngle. 

Amid all this, Murtala’s two-year-old child and distraught wife hope their breadwinner will one day return to them.

‘Missing since 2021’

Ridwan’s disappearance has left the family devastated for several years. He was arrested at his barbershop on Dec. 24, 2021, while attending to customers cutting their hair for the Christmas celebration. 

“When we realised that we didn’t hear from Ridwan on Christmas Day, we went to look for him at Langbasa and a few individuals who happen to know him within the environment informed us that Digbolu-Kolu arrested him,” Sowande Akeem, his elder brother, recalled. 

When the victim’s family first contacted the local security outfit boss, Taofik, he denied having knowledge about the arrest. He advised the family to visit Langbasa Police Station, but Ridwan was not there. Surprisingly, Taofiq reached out to Akeem in January 2022, claiming he was among those who arrested Ridwan during a random raid of communities. He said he was willing to help the family locate his brother and demanded the sum of ₦100,000 to facilitate his release. 

“He told me my brother was taken to a police station in Ikeja and would need the money to facilitate his release from custody, but I pleaded with him to reduce the money. We both agreed on ₦60,000. I asked him to send his account number, which he failed to do, insisting he wanted cash. So, I went to his station and gave him ₦55,000. He has since then been dribbling me. He comes up with one excuse or the other anytime I ask him to take me to where they keep my brother.”

When the Digbolu-Kolu boss failed to fulfil his promise, Akeem and other relatives proceeded to the Lagos Police Command in Ikeja to make enquiries. Again, no trace of Ridwan. Months later, Taofik called again, asking for his ₦5,000 balance with an assurance that he had seen Ridwan.

“I told him I was not in Lagos and wouldn’t be able to bring cash to him. So, I asked him to send his account, which he initially refused. After a back-and-forth, he eventually sent the account details, and I transferred ₦5,000 to him. Like before, he stopped responding to my calls again,” Akeem said. 

“We’ve been to Kiri Kiri maximum and medium prisons. We’ve been to Ikoyi prisons and several other police stations in Lagos, but we couldn’t find my brother. So, I submitted a petition to the Lagos Police Command, and it was assigned to the State Criminal Investigation Officer in Panti, where I was called to make a statement, and I did. Some officers from the Lagos Police Command followed me to the Digbolu-Kolu office, but we could not find Taofik. I have been facing a lot of threats and intimidation on the phone since then. Three years after Ridwan’s arrest by Digbolu-Kolu, the family’s fate remains unknown,” Akeem’s voice trembled as he recounted the ordeals. 

When contacted for comments, Taofik told HumAngle that families of the missing victims were targeting him because of his role in eradicating cultism in the Ajah axis. Asked why those arrested by him continue to go missing, he said, “I don’t know anything about that.”

He also denied collecting money to facilitate the release of some of the missing persons. When HumAngle confronted him with evidence, he was dumbfounded, admitting that “the money I collected from the Ridwan family was to buy airtime to call my sources in different stations about their brother.”

Vigilante or villain?

Several sources told HumAngle that the local vigilante group has become a predator to locals, and despite calls for Taofik’s removal, the LCDA chairman, Ogundare, continues to retain him. HumAngle also obtained a suspension letter issued to Taofik by the leadership of OPC in Eti-Osa over various gross misconducts in 2022. 

“The team leader of Digbolu-Kolu Security Outfit is hereby suspended as a result of your actions on 17/01/2022. You have been suspended from this date 18th January, 2022 until further notice. You violated multiple sections of Eti-Osa East L.G.A Standard Code such as (1) misleading Digbolu-Kolu the security outfit (2) illegal duty (3) disobeying the law and order.  You have also involved yourself into irrelevant actions that may cause havoc and unrest to the community if proper measure is not taken,” part of the letter read. 

Asked why he continued to parade himself as the leader of the local vigilante group despite his indefinite suspension from OPC, Taofik said he was forgiven after writing an apology letter to the leadership of OPC in Eti-Osa. Meanwhile, HumAngle could not independently verify this claim as the Chairman of OPC in Eti-Osa East LCDA, Nureni Odedina, did not respond to multiple calls and text messages. 

Again, Taofik was arrested in June 2023 after allegedly supervising the fatal torture of a colleague identified as Ezekiel. The victim was starved for two days in the guardroom of the security outfit after he was accused of stealing a phone during an event attended by members of the vigilante group. Sources familiar with the incident told HumAngle that the leader of the group did not inform anyone about Ezekiel’s death until the police were briefed. 

Though arrested alongside six others who carried out the inhumane torture, they were released from Lagos detention weeks later. “I gained my freedom after the deceased family said they were not interested in pursuing the case,” the Digbolu-Kolu boss told HumAngle. 

Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased told HumAngle they were not interested in speaking to the press when contacted for details. While Taofik and other members’ release fueled suspicions, Ben Hundeyin, spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, did not respond to enquiries even as many families are plagued with uncertainties.