Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government has gone tough on secret cult activities in the south-south state with the immediate expulsion of seven students from Central Epie Community Secondary School, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital.
Recently the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson had enlisted the support of the Church to tackle cultism in primary schools in the state.
According to a statement by the Commissioner for Education, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite, the students were indicted for invading Central Epie Community Secondary School and attacking a student.
Obuebite warned that no school in the state should admit the students without clearance from the state government.
The statement read in part:
“Some students from the Central Epie Secondary School, Opolo-Epie, have been expelled with immediate effect for engaging in cultism and cult-related activities within the school premises, attacking and injuring an S.S.3 student, endangering the life of other students and disrupting smooth academic activities.The names of the affected students are Ogugu Yiniewemi, Okudo Clever, Perewari Agih, Richman Paibi, Yagila Clement, Umukoro ThankGod and Okpara Peter.
“All Government schools are by this announcement prohibited from admitting these students without proper clearance from the Ministry of Education.”
Investigations revealed that four suspected teenage cultists armed with an assault rifle had invaded the school scaling the fence where they had threatened to kill a Senior Secondary School III student.
They were, however, unable to carry out the act as a detachment of policemen from the Area Command were deployed to the school.
A probe into the invasion of the school was immediately ordered and the seven students were indicted, leading to their immediate expulsion, with a complaint lodged with the Bayelsa State Police Command to investigate them for possible arrest.