I wish I had killed my bitter rival before my arrest – Cult Leader

An unrepentant cultist and killer, Fatai Animashaun, also known as Ejo, has told operatives of the Lagos State Police Command that his only regret was that he did not kill his bitter rival before he was arrested.

Fatai who was arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), during a cult clash between the Eiye and Aiye Confraternities in the Bariga area of the state, said if he had killed his rival, he would have been a fulfilled man.

Ejo, which means Snake, a 27-year-old father of two, confessed that he had been in the cult for over 15 years and had participated in killing many of his opponents.






But his failure to kill the leader of the Eiye Cult, whom he said was his greatest rival, is what makes him really sad.

“I am not happy that I did not kill my rival, Omo Iya Aje, (son of a wicth), before I was arrested,” Fatai began during his interrogation.

“If I had killed him before my arrest, I would have been a very happy man. But today, I hear he has been boasting all over the place because he thinks this is my end.






I was born in Ilaje-Bariga and I have lived there all my life. If you go to Ilaje today and ask of Fatai, many people will not know me but if you say you are looking for Ejo, even little children will take you to my house.

I joined the Aiye Cult when I was very young, I think I was about 15 or 16. I was an apprentice mechanic then because I did not have the ‘brains’ for education, so I decided to learn the trade.

Nobody forced me to joined the cult, neither was I under any threat. I just decided to join them and I am not regretting anything.






I was very stubborn when I was growing up and nobody in Ilaje-Bariga could tame me. I was always getting into fights and most times, these fights would become bloody as we used bottles, knives, planks and any kind of weapon that was handy.

I was injured several times and I also injured many people in these fights. My parents tried all they could to make me a good boy but it seemed the more they tried, the wilder and unruly I became.






There was a time I was shipped to our hometown in Ondo State to live with my grandparents, with the hope that a change of environment would calm me down.

But within a month, I had gotten involved in so much trouble that the community leaders called my parents to come and take me away before I killed someone.

I was beating up all my mates and injuring many of them with bottles and knives. The community was horrified at my behaviour and everyone wanted me to be taken away.






It was when I came back to Lagos that I joined the cult. The Aiye Cult is the dominant group in Bariga while the Eiye people had been trying to come in and take over our territory.

They operate mainly in Mushin, Ogudu, Iyana-Oworo, Fadeyi, Ifako, and other surrounding communities.

For me, it was a thing of pride to join the cult because the members were respected and feared. No one dared touch us as they knew we would always deal with such a person.






Another thing that made us fearless was that we could get any woman we wanted and no one would bat an eye.

If the girl had a boyfriend and the guy tried anything funny, he could lose his life in the process. So we had a field day, terrorizing and frightening people.

Local politicians also made use of us during elections and they paid us handsomely. They would supply us with guns and ammunition which we used to fight their rivals.






The mistake they always made was that after the elections, they would abandon us with the guns and we would later use them for our gang wars and robbery operations.

But in all of these, the person who has been giving me and our group serious problems has been Omo Iya Aje. He is the leader of the Eiye Cult in Bariga and had been making things difficult for us because he wants to take over Bariga.






He has killed many of our members and it was my task to kill him as the leader of the Aiye group.

I had tried many times but he always escaped because he has so many charms. He could disappear or turn into anything whenever he is cornered.

There were many times I led my gang to his house, armed with our own juju and charms, but he would manage to escape.






At one time, we cornered him and shot at him several times but the bullets bounced off his body. We brought out our machetes and cut him but they would not penetrate.

And believe it or not, Omo Iya Aje just disappeared. We heard his laughter in the bushes and he was taunting us, saying we could not get him.






I was arrested during a clash between our gang and the Aiye gang. I do not regret any of my actions and if I die here, so be it. But, if I manage to come out of this alive, I will make it my duty to kill Omo Iya Aje.

But if I do not come out here alive, I know my gang will surely get him one day. No matter the charms he has, there are places that one can get more powerful charms that can neutralize his own.”