From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt        

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Recently, Christian  communities  in  Gokana  Local Government  Area of  Rivers State organised  a deliverance  session  for  over 3,000  repentant  cult members, who denounced  their membership.
The deliverance was facilitated  by a  group  of clerics,  led by Rev. Fr. Abel Abulu, in collaboration  with Gokana  Peace Ambassadors, who  have been going  round  the creeks of  Gokana , to campaign  for  peace due to widespread of cult-related  violence  which claimed  many lives.
Father Abulu of  St. Patrick’s Catholic  Church,  Budor, expressed concern  that lives of innocent people were being taken almost  on daily basis, while economic activities have been grounded in the area. He called on other religious bodies to help in the fight against cultism and  kidnapping.  He encouraged  the repentant cultists  never to go back to their old life, but  to   put  their trust in God  for a better living  and development  of  the local government and  the state.
Similarly,  the  leader of  the peace ambassadors, Kpakol Aleema-Kpakol, threatened  to expose those behind the crisis, if  they refused to desist from sponsoring  violence in the area. He called on the state government to support  their efforts through granting  of amnesty to the repentant cultists, which, he said, would  help to sustain the regenerated  youths and make them live  a meaningful life .
Some  of  the repentant cultists, who  spoke with Daily Sun commended  the facilitators  of  the programme  and  assured  that  they  would never go back  to their  old ways of life. They encouraged others, who are still engaging  in cult activities to embrace peace for the benefit of development  in Gokana and  the state at large.
Deemor Baridam: “We are sorry for whatever problem we have caused our people and the backwardness our communities have suffered  because of our involvement in cultism. Unfortunately, we did not achieve anything with it.
“All  these years,  we  have killed our  parents, brothers and sisters and burnt down houses for our lack of understanding. We thought we achieved something.  But nothing  good came out of  it. It is sad.
“I thank our Reverend Father  who preached to us many times and advised us to leave the evil things we were doing.  We are all happy for today and all the people that contributed  to  the  peace  we  are  having today.  God will reward them accordingly.  We have been living in fear and life of uncertainty due to our nefarious activities.  We  thank God because,  today,  we are free  and can move about,  without fear of uncertainties.”
Some of  the arms recovered from the repentant cultists were handed over to the security agency. After denouncing cultism, they were said to have submitted their arms to the cleric. They said they came out en mass to denounce their membership of cult groups because  they were touched  by the efforts of Father  Abule  and Gokana Peace Ambassadors  in restoring peace in the local government area.
One of the repentant cultists, Denbesi Isaac, said they decided to lay down their arms because they were tired of living in  the hidings in their own  land. He  regretted   the setback their  activities had caused the  local government area and begged for  forgiveness. He called on the state government  to  join  hands  with the Christian community and the Gokana Peace Ambassadors,  to ensure  adequate empowerment  for the repentant cultists.
He said  if the boys were integrated into the state Amnesty programme, it  would help to change their minds from going  back  to  the crime. Isaac  promised  that  he and his group would never return  to cultism for the sake of peace and development in the area:
“We thank God that we are alive today. It was the  Rev. Father’s preaching  during  his   several visits that made us to change our minds. To me, it is the handiwork of  God. We are  calling on the state government to include us in their amnesty programme. They should  train and empower us, so that  we would  not  think of going  back to  our past lives.”
Aleema-Kpakol explained  that  the group decided to embark on the  peace campaign, following the widespread of violence, which   he said, had claimed  the lives of  many  innocent souls in the area. Aleema-Kpakol, who spoke alongside his secretary, Tomei Barikpe Vycent, commended the efforts  of Father  Abulu, for  his commitment  in ensuring the security  of  Gokana people.
He stressed the need for the state government to reintegrate the repentant cultists for the sake of peace and development  in Gokana;  as  well as making  them useful in  the society.
The latest development   became  a reality  after several attempts by  the State Amnesty Committee,  to  make the cultists in the area to repent met brick wall. On two occasions, the suspected cultists refused to submit their arms to the committee in-charge of  the amnesty  programme, claiming  they did not have arms in their possession.