This position will help the agencies realize that mission at the Refuge and Parks. Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. 2019). ecoi.net is funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior and Caritas Austria. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State is currently facing mass exodus of its members as well as supporters over rumours that the leaders of the Party at the State and Local Government levels are coerced by the Governor to join the Ogboni Fraternity. The Associate Professor indicated that individuals are "initiated" (Associate Professor 9 Sept. 2021). 2019], France. Rivers State PDP Members Allegedly Forced To Join Ogboni Fraternity 2019a; Sociologist 29 Mar. The April 2018 article by Legit.ng similarly notes that there is "not enough information about the Ogboni fraternity symbols, rituals and initiation process" (Legit.ng 16 Apr. According to The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Yoruba people are now mainly located in southwestern Nigeria, with scattered groups in Benin and northern Togo (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica 1989, 12: 855). 14 March 2019. 5 January 2019. 2018). This is not a UNHCR publication. The Research Affiliate similarly indicated that the aboriginal Ogboni Society is older than and separate from the ROF (Research Affiliate 9 Sept. 2021). Your email address will not be published. Correspondence with the Research Directorate. Internet sites, including: Africa Confidential; African Arguments; African Examiner; Al Jazeera; aljazirahnews.com; Amnesty International; Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; BBC; Belgium Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons; Brookings Institution; Bertelsmann Stiftung; Buzz Nigeria; Celestial News Online; Center for Strategic and International Studies; Channels Television; CKN Nigeria; Concise News; Council on Foreign Relations; The Daily Champion; Daily Nigerian; Daily Review Online; Daily Trust; Daylight; Denmark Danish Immigration Service; Denton Newspaper; E-Nigeria Newspaper; ecoi.net; Economic Confidential; Elevate News Nigeria; Elombah News; EU European Asylum Support Office; Every Nigeria; Factiva; Fdration internationale pour les droits humains; Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria; France Office franais de protection des rfugis et apatrides; Freedom House; The Guardian; The Herald [Nigeria]; Human Rights Watch; InfoStride; Institute for War and Peace Reporting; International Crisis Group; INTERPOL; Leadership; Mdecins Sans Frontires; METROWATCH; Metro Daily Nigeria; Metro Times Nigeria; Minority Rights Group International; Mirror Nigeria; Mondo Times; Naija News; Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The New Humanitarian; news24; NewsDay; News of Nigeria; Nigeria National Human Rights Commission; Nigeria Watch; Nigerian Television Authority; Nigerian Tribune; Norway Landinfo; Okay.ng; Organisation suisse daide aux rfugis; Orient Daily; People's Daily; Pointblank News; Pulse.ng; Realnews Magazine; Reporters sans frontires; Republican Nigeria; Ripples Nigeria; The Sun; SPY Nigeria; TODAY; Transparency International; UK Home Office; UN Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Refworld, UN Women, WHO; US Department of State, Library of Congress; Vanguard; Voice of Nigeria; Wilson Center; World Bank. 2019). Nigeria. Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. To keep and obey the Laws and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and those of any other Country in which one resides. The governorship flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has denied beingmember of the Ogboni confratanity. If blood was spilled in a fight, the fighters would have to pay a fine and provide animals for sacrifice. In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a research affiliate at Boston University who specializes in African languages and social anthropology indicated that there is a "traditional" or "aboriginal" Ogboni Society (Research Affiliate 9 Sept. 2021). Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 18 September 2020. Notwithstanding the provision of sub section 2 of this section, a minor can be a member provided that either of his parents is a member. [Accessed 31 Aug. 2021], Olaopa, Tunji. (Renowned Ogboni Abalaiye Association). 2019) and was founded by educated elite Yoruba Christians in 1915 with voluntary membership for the purpose of networking (Centennial Professor 14 Mar. For the purpose of this Response, the official gathered information from other officials in Nigeria who provided comments and references to "speculations based on local knowledge and research/consultations with local sources in Abuja and Lagos" (Canada 27 Mar. 2019), with ranking (Sociologist 27 Mar. There was a problem processing your submission. Says the Army did everything they could to stop his re-election but God said no and prevail in his favour. According to the same source, membership is "not inherited," since members tend to be "adults or well-placed members of the larger society" (Professor 16 Sept. 2021). According to the Professor, "much is not known" about Ogboni initiations, rituals, and ceremonies (Professor 16 Sept. 2021). 2019], France. I have said it and I want to repeat it. [Accessed 27 Mar. In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an official at the Canadian High Commission in Abuja stated that there is "very little concrete information or evidence available about the Ogboni" and that the information available is "speculation" (Canada 27 Mar. 2019). Further information on rituals and activities of the Ogboni society could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. He made no attempt to study the beliefs of Ogboni members, whom he dismissed as 'mystery-mongering greybeards '.3 Two anthropologists have been initiated into the cult in In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor of Yoruba language and culture at the University of Indiana stated that information on the structure of the Ogboni Society and its rituals is accessible only to its members or individuals who are very close to a member (Professor 27 Mar. 27 March 2019. 2019), or a [translation] "traditional secret society" (France 27 Feb. 2015, 3). Visitor Services Member - Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge [Accessed 31 Aug. 2021], Legit.ng. Ogboni fraternity cult: rituals, symbols, hand sign, human sacrifice 2020). "56-yr-old Businesswoman Seeks End to 33-yr-old Marriage." The Professor stated that membership in the Ogboni Society is "by birth, marriage or choice," and membership is "restricted/protected by an oath of secrecy" (Professor 16 Sept. 2021). Men must be at least 21 years old to join, while women must be at least 40; married women [whose husbands are members (Legit.ng 16 Apr. The Ogboni traditionally played a significant role in Yoruba religion and society, and were involved in the installation of new Kings. 4.1 Location of Members Information on whether Ogboni society members are present within major cities of Nigeria, including non-Yoruba areas, was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. 19 September 2021. Morton-Williams does specify that he had never been given an account of a particular occasion when such a sacrifice was made but he does add that he is "satisfied that it would be regarded as a compelling sanction even in political issues" and that "in comparison to their neighbours to the east or to the west, the Yoruba were not a bloodthirsty people, and regarded human sacrifice as very awesome" (Ibid., 370). Sources state that Ogboni members do not share the group's "secrets" with non-members (Senior Fellow 19 Sept. 2021) or that members are "bound by secrecy" (Legit.ng 8 July 2021). The Nigerian Guardian states that the Ogboni society "functions in a few remote kingdoms and is popular in Nigerian Yoruba and Igbo-speaking communities" (The Guardian 16 Sept. 2018). The Ogboni society is referred to as a "cult" (Canada 27 Mar. 4 May 1991. The Canadian official stated that it is reportedly common for a first-born son to "inherit" the position of their Ogboni father, but that taking the position is not mandatory, unless the Ogboni member "commit[ed] their unborn child or teenager to the group," in which case the child reportedly "will be compelled to join when he is of age," which is 21 for males and 40 for females (Canada 27 Mar. Telephone Interview. According to the same source, society "views them both as cultic, satanic and evil" (Professor 16 Sept. 2021). Centennial Professor, London School of Economics (LSE). 2019). It also entails the duty of contributing to the funeral expenses of lineage Ogboni members. Mass Exodus Hits Rivers PDP over Allegations of Ogboni Fraternity, THE PEADOPHILE SPIRIT OF ERIC LOOKS DOWN ON THE BBCS CELEBRITIES OF SHAME, 500 days of horror as Pocket Man Putin fails in Ukraine, EAGLE SOUND STRUMS ON WINDS OF THE WITCHY WOMAN. 1980. Printable version Nigeria: The Reformed Ogboni Fraternity (ROF), including the nature of its belief system and its purpose; whether membership is compulsory, especially for children of members, and consequences for refusing to join the ROF; whether positions within the ROF are inherited 1. Another article by the same source states that the Ogboni "serv[e] as the high court of jurisprudence in offences" for the Egba (The Guardian 8 Sept. 2019). The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State is currently facing mass exodus of its members as well as supporters over rumours that the leaders of the Party at the State and Local Government levels are coerced to join the Ogboni Fraternity. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate. If a wrongdoer denied a charge against him, he would be compelled to declare "If I am innocent, I will come to no harm. All Rights Reserved. 2019). The Guardian, a newspaper in Nigeria, indicates that Ogboni members "constitute the nobility of the various Yoruba kingdoms across the West African sub-region" (The Guardian 8 Sept. 2019). 2019; Canada 27 Mar. Ogboni The flooding from above: A bird's-eye view of damage in Winooski River Ogboni fraternity is an indigenous fraternal institution of the Yoruba language-speaking polities. Office franais de protection des rfugis et apatrides (OFPRA). Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. According to the same source, the traditional Ogboni society today "has no power or influence" and it is stigmatized as a "pagan remnant" of the past (Centennial Professor 14 Mar. "Nothing Secret, Sinister About Us Ogboni Fraternity." As submissions are anonymous, the IRB will not respond. He continued to assure his people that no body can impose his successor in Rivers State from Abuja or anywhere. He challenged his critics to present an evidence to counter his claim, adding that he has no reason to be an occultic. 3) According to Peter Morton-William, the Ogboni members or "those who have Ogboni" were elderly people, predominantly men, with a small number of women, "usually six whose duty is to represent the interests of the women in the town" (Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 1960, 368). Nigeria: I'm Not Ogboni Member, Wike Replies Amaechi 2019a). Ogunbiyi of the Anglican Church.. Structure and Nature of the Belief System The Professor indicated that the mission of the ROF is "to engage in public-spirited gestures and activities" and "alleviat[e] poverty, suffering, and misery" (Professor 16 Sept. 2021).
