Of the Badoo Cult and the Peace of Ikorodu II

Governor Ambode's Responses to the Badoo Menace

By David Ademule

The responses of Governor Ambode to the killings carried outby the Badoo cult in its formative days in Ikorodu were, at best, nonchalant and lackadaisical.When the Badoo serial killings first started in Ibeshe, to the east of Ikorodu, in July 2016 the Lagos State Government turned deaf ears to the cry of Ibeshe residents.Governor Ambode neithercondemned the gruesome killings directly nor indirectly. While the Governor's actions may be unintentional, it gave the Badoo cult the impetus and confidence needed to spread and unleash more and more terror on Ikorodu residents.

Perceiving that the Badoo cult couldno longer be handled with kids gloves, Governor Ambode very recently came up with somehasty interventions totackle the Badoo attacks. The Governor initiated andorganized meetings withtraditional rulers and the security agencies on the possible ways to crush the Badoo cult. The results of the meetings have witnessed the deployment of heavy security men at Ikorodu. The police has also intensified its surveillance activities within Ikorodu, cooperating with other sister and local security agencies.

Ikorodu Residents' Responses to the Badoo Menace.

Perhaps because the responses of the Lagos State Government to the Badoo cult killings are late and inadequate, the residents of Ikorodu have taken it upon themselves the responsibilities of protecting themselves from Badoo attacks and the delivery of judgement to Badoo suspects.

Specifically, as a way of protecting their neighbourhoods from Badoo attacks, Ikorodu residents have stopped sleeping at nights.Adult menand youths now join recognized vigilante groups to keep vigils in turns. They burn vehicle tyres at the entrance of major roads, turning the whole of Ikorodu town into a charcoal Paradise. But then, several residents believe that it is better to have charcoals litter the streetsthan to have corpses litter homes. To scarce away potential Badoo cultists, vigilante groups chant war songs and blow whistle at midnights.

On the delivery of justice to Badoo suspects, a majority of the residents of Ikorodubelieves that a justice delayed is a justice denied. They believe, and have reasons to hold their beliefs, that the police and the judiciary havebeen compromised. Therefore, they set ablaze any apprehendedBadoo suspect whether guilty or innocent. For the residents of Ikorodu, to forgive Badoo is up to God but to send Badoo to God is up to them. And sadly, jungle justice has made the Badoo cult more mysterious because the lynching ofa suspecterodes the chances of obtaining vital information from the suspect.Moreover, jungle justice increases the chances of punishing innocent people who are mere victims of circumstances.The controversial lynching of three Badoo suspects, one of which turned out to be a budding entertainer, at Odogunyan is a classical example in this regard.

New Measures to Combat the Badoo Menace.
I write this subheading in my capacity as a trained Sociologist and Criminologist who have had the privilege of sittingunder the tutorage of security expertsfromthe most prestigious Nigerian universities. Having studied thoroughly the patterns of the Badoo attacks myself, I propose the following as viable measures to eliminate the Badoo cult:

First, let it known that the Badoo cultgroup profile their victims before every single attack is carried out. They takeampletime to gather information before they strike, before they strike soft targets. The first thing to do, therefore, is to make everyhousehold in Ikorodu less vulnerable. Owners of houses without burglar bars and iron doors should install them immediately.This will prevent or delay accessin the event of a Badoo attack.

Second, 100% of Badoo attacks have been on households with less than two adult males. This is not a coincidence. As an almighty rule, criminals everywhereprefer to attack places where there are little or no resistance. And the Badoo cult is not an exception. The group, from the magnitude ofhavoc caused per attack, appears to operate in a colony of three or two. And since they don't carry lethal weapons, it is for them wise to attack homes with zero resistance. This said, every household in Ikorodu should reshuffle themselves to accommodate two or more male adults.I now leave the ball in the courts of the head of every Ikorodu household.

Third, the Badoo cult, as already stated in the first part of this article, has a fancy for attacking secluded buildings. At this point, those living in highly vulnerable buildings, buildings which have no neighbours to watch out for them, should evacuate such buildings immediately or hire competent security operatives to guard such buildings. Residents of such buildings who do not have money to relocate and hire guards,may buy two or more dogs as companions.This would go a long way to deter members of the dreadful criminal group.

Fourth, every streetin Ikorodu should develop an emergency response team made up of youths and adult men. The duty of this emergency response team should include but not limited tosurveillance, intelligence gathering and vigils to keep the street safe from criminalinfiltration. This is already being executed but the participants need to be more tactical and precise in their operations. There should also be collaborative efforts and reinforcements from sister streets.

Fifth, the residents of Ikorodu must at this point know that it is lawful, according to the Nigerian Criminal Code1990, for a man to kill in self defense provided he or she applys a reasonable forceproportional to the force wielded by the assaulter. A machete is a reasonable force against Badoo. A gallon of acid is a reasonable force against Badoo. A can of pepper spray is a reasonable force against Badoo. Anything that can serve as a resistance is a reasonable force against Badoo. It is better to kill Badoo inside your house than have Badoo kill you inside your house.

Sixth, the policeshould increase surveillance and patrols within the Ikorodu axis to gather intelligence and raid criminal hide outs. This will help to foil Badoo attacks before they are carried out. The police should also prosecute Badoo suspects when investigations have been completedand evidence gathered. This would build trust in Ikorodu residents and consequently reduce jungle justice. The police should also uphold the collaborative efforts it hasdeveloped with Oyambo, OPC, LNSC, etc. I believe it will go a long way in combating the Badoo menace.

Finally,urgent steps should be taken to frustrate the Badoo cultistsand other criminal elements in Ikorodu. In this regard,there is a need for the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, to give a directive to the big bars in Ikorodu to temporarily close business by 9pm until further notice. There are indications that Badoo gang members meet and plan their attacks at these big bars, camp there into the dead of the night, before leaving to carry out their heinous acts.An early closure of these bars will frustrate Badoo cultists and consequently their attacks. Again,the CP should direct all the hotels in Ikorodu, as a permanent measure, to install CCTV in their receptions whereonly customers with a valid means of identification should be admitted. These measures will ensure that lodgers can be identified and traced. In the end, Badoo cultists and other criminal elements in Ikoroduwill be frustrated.

David Ademule, a student of human society and crime, lives and writes from Lagos where he goes about carrying his magical pen in his pockets.