About 40 youths in Abini Community, Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State, have renounced their membership of the Vikings, Klans and Axemen cult groups and pledged to embrace peaceful and lawful lifestyles.
The youths made the commitment on August 26, 2026, during a sensitisation and engagement programme organised by the Cross River State Police Command in collaboration with the Abini Elites Association and the LauraHope Foundation.
The Abini Elites Association comprises the clan head and chiefs of the community.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Calabar on Monday.
According to him, the initiative formed part of the proactive, community-based crime prevention strategy of the Commissioner of Police, Ajo-Geoffrey Ordue.
The statement said the engagement was designed to educate young people on the dangers of cultism, drug abuse, illegal possession of firearms and other social vices.
The Commissioner of Police, represented at the event by the Divisional Police Officer of Yakurr Division, CSP Innocent Ayabotu, urged the youths to reject criminal activities and contribute positively to the development of their community.
“Our engagement is focused on the dangers of cultism, drug abuse, unlawful possession of firearms and other social vices.
“I want to urge youths to reject criminality and become agents of peace and development in their community,” Ordue said.
The police commissioner described the youths’ decision as an important step in efforts to prevent crime through early intervention, intelligence gathering and community engagement.
He said the initiative was consistent with the command’s intelligence-led and community-oriented policing strategy, which seeks to address factors that encourage young people to join criminal networks.
Ordue commended the traditional rulers, community leaders, LauraHope Foundation and the youths for their cooperation, stressing that sustainable security requires collective responsibility among security agencies, communities and other stakeholders.
He assured residents that the command would continue to combine intelligence-led enforcement with preventive measures and community partnerships to tackle criminal activities and protect vulnerable youths.
“We will continue to combine intelligence-led enforcement with preventive interventions, strategic community engagement and partnership-driven policies to sensitise our youths to reject cultism and other forms of criminality, while encouraging them to become positive agents of peace and development within their community,” he added.
