Ombatse and Boko Haram
Murderously Violent, Anti-State, Political Spiritualities
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepioju
Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems
"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
Similarities Between Boko Haram and Ombatse
Murder of Agents of the State by Armed and Deadly Groups
The Nigerian law enforcement officers describe themselves as trying to defuse another group that could metamorphose into a Boko Haram form in moving against Ombatse, indicating they suspected the group was armed and deadly, as they seem to have been proven right.
The law enforcement officers are therefore correct in stating they wanted to eliminate a potential Boko Haram style movement, which Ombaste has shown itself to be up to the point of using murder, and murder of state officers, in pursuing their goals.
Those are two points of correlation between Boko Haram and Ombatse that I pointed out.
Forcing Allegiance to a Religious/Political/Nationalistic Creed
A third correlation:
Forcing people to swear allegiance to a religious/political/nationalistic creed.
Islam is both religious and political. In being related to specific state territory, it becomes nationalistic.
Boko Haram demonstrates these various ideological aspects to its agenda. It is trying to use terror to force people to identify with these gaols.
Nafata Bamguje inadvertently demonstrates how Boko Haram and Ombatse share the strategy of pursuing a religious/political/nationalistic vision through the use of force:
... Ombatse compelling some Eggon people to swear oath of allegiance to the Eggon nation… Not unlike when we recite the pledge of allegiance to Nigeria and end with "so help me God."
Of course a pledge to a traditional deity is far more potent hence some of the apprehension.
Ombatse Religio/Political Compulsion
This unwelcome compulsion by Ombatse of swearing allegiance to an ethnic deity is summed up byAndrew McGregor in "Ombatse: Nigerian Religious Cult Joins War on the State in Central Nigeria" on May 17, 2013 in The Jamestown Foundation: Global Research and Analysis:
Though Ombatse (meaning "Time has Come") has kept a relatively low profile for some years despite occasional clashes with non-Eggon neighbors and police, the traditional religious movement has embarked on a violent campaign of moral and spiritual reform implemented through forced conversions, though the campaign also draws on currents of political frustration and perennial disputes with semi-nomadic herders like the Fulani, who use the same land as sedentary agriculturalists like the Eggon.
This violent strategy is instantiated by the Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State Command, Mr. Abayomi Akeremale, quoted in the Nigerian Tribune article "How Ombatse Festered Unchecked", of Sunday, 19 May 2013:
…before the [latest] incident, we have had complaints that were really frightening. We were aware of Ombatse. Ombatse had been regarded as a cultural group; that is the way I have always been seeing them; a cultural group with a positive motive. I never saw them as a militant group because there is freedom of association.
'About two weeks before this particular incident, there were two cases of kidnap of some people in churches reported at some police stations. There was another one at another place where a Muslim was asked to go and take some oath and he said it was against his faith to take oath. This led to some crisis within the town before the security meeting was held.'
Reading some of the complaints brought before him earlier, Akeremale said: 'The command had a crime report on the 28 April at about 10.00 hours. Information was received from Ginda Gambo that the activities of the Ombatse ... were going on; that a pastor with Living Faith Church in Ginda Gambo was bundled from the church to the Ombatse shrine at Ginda Gambo.'
The police boss further stated that the command mobilised policemen to the spot immediately. When the team led by Inspector Jemas Yakubu, arrived at the scene with officials of the State Security Service (SSS), they took charge of the situation.
He said the policemen were informed that the pastor was an indigene of Eggon and that all they were doing was purely an Eggon issue. They said all other ethnic tribes in Nigeria owned their culture and that the constitution of the country provided the right of worship for every individual and that, as such, Eggon people should not be disturbed by any law enforcement agent when observing their culture.
The police boss disclosed further that on the same 28 April, at about 18.00 hours, there was a call from a senior clerk of the High Court in Ankwanga Local Government Area of the state, received by Inspector Emmanuel Oka, that his uncle and brother were taken away from their place of abode at Barki Rijiya in Lafia East Development Area by a group of people suspected to be members of Ombatse group.
Boko Haram adopts a related vision in trying to force other Muslims to their brand of Islam, Islam being a religious and nationalistic creed.
Sun News of June 2, 2013, in "Ombatse Massacre: The Untold Story", demonstrates the relationship between the Ombatse strategy of compulsion and the law enforcement strategy against the group:
Police operation
According to police sources at the state command, the former Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abayomi Akeremale, received reports of how the supposedly cultural organisation, Ombatse, were abducting people from mosques and churches to forcefully administer oath of allegiance on them to the Eggon deity. In the course of police investigation, "we discovered that a native priest, one Baba Alakyo, was behind the administration of the oath as well as a concoction that would compel obedience to the deity. It was further discovered that a large cache of illegal arms had been stockpiled at the shrine where Bab Alakyo administered the oath.
"Acting on the directive of the Inspector General of Police, the command launched an operation to arrest the Ombatse priest as well as recover the weapons at the shrine."
Governor's account
Governor Tanko Al-Makura, who has since denied any complicity in the crisis, spoke about the incident. According to him, "we discovered a certain militia group holding arms and carrying out cult activities in the state. Since January, this thing has not abated and in the past weeks it took a total different dimension.
"They had been invading even churches, compelling people of the ethnic group to take potions that are meant to empower them to do what they do. This escalated and caused serious concern in the state. We decided to hold security meeting to find a way of solving the problem. The solution was to go to the shrine and pick up the cult leader.
"As security operatives approached the shrine, unknown to them, an ambush had been laid by members of the Ombatse cult. The attack resulted in the death of the security operatives.
Military Strategy and Sadistic Lust of Ombatse and Boko Haram
Military Strategy
This ambush was carried out in a style reminiscent of how Boko Hram has attacked churches, blocking victims into a confined space and shooting into the closely packed group, thereby inflicting maximum damage through proximity and restricted movement of victims, as described by People's Daily of June 4, 2013 in Ombatse: How Cultural Association Turned Nasarawa to Slaughter Slab":
One of the survivors, who spoke under condition of anonymity, narrated that the militia members laid in wait for the arrival of the security team, and waited till the convoy of Hilux vans conveying the team went pass an area before they opened fire on the team from every side of the road.
He disclosed that from all indications, the Ombatse members had prior knowledge of the operation, after which they laid siege on the security operatives on the narrow road leading to the village of Alakyo, some ten kilometres away from Lafia, the state capital.
"We were outnumbered and overpowered as the militia opened fire on us from both sides of the narrow road leading to Alakyo. It was only by the grace of God that some of us escaped as they shot and killed our men who were trapped in the vehicles," the survivor further recounted.
The police officer, who was visibly distraught told our reporter that the militiamen dressed in black shirts and caps, kept approaching amidst heavy gunfire which forced their Hilux vehicle to turn back, being the last van on the convoy.
"Due to the nature of the road and ensuing gun battle our men could not turn back and nine of us in our van were able to manoeuvre our way out but not without suffering bullet wounds," he added.
Sadistic Lust
The sadistic lust for gory killing that marks Boko Haram is also evident in Ombatse activity, as shown in this description by Andrew McGregor in "Ombatse: Nigerian Religious Cult Joins War on the State in Central Nigeria" on May 17, 2013 in The Jamestown Foundation: Global Research and Analysis, on what the Ombatse characters did with the law enforcement officers they killed:
After the slaughter, the bodies of the security men were burned beyond recognition in large fires. One veteran police respondent described it as "the most cold-blooded act I have witnessed against the law enforcement community in my three decades in the force" (Premium Times [Abuja], May 10). Large scale protests by the wives and families of the deceased have paralyzed the state capital as the charred bodies are gradually brought into Lafia.
Allah and the Islamic State
The Ombatse shrine Azhili, and Eggon ethnic nationalism are identical or correlative, as Allah, whom Boko Haram describe themselves as serving, is identical with Islamic law and government, these social visions being seen as inspired by Allah.
An account of the birth of Ombatse quoted in the Nigerian Tribune article "How Ombatse Festered Unchecked", of Sunday, 19 May 2013, and corroborated by other interviews with Ombatse spokesmen in other sources, indicates this unity of nationalism and religion:
"We, Ombatse, are not happy with the development of things in Eggon land. We went to Azhili and cried out to the ancestors and the supreme being of peace, progress and development of the Eggon people. We cried out and prayed for progress in education, family and business. We observed the increasing crime rate, such as theft, fornication and other ills. We also observed that there is no unity in Eggon, especially in its politics. We then cried out. That was how we received the revelation," a member of the group who did not want his name in print, stated.
Ombatse pursues these goals through force directed at other Eggon, through violence towards non-Eggon and through murder of law enforcement agents whom they see as obstructing their goals.
Boko Haram also pursues a form of religious and moral purity in relation to a political goal, pursuing this through violent, murderous force of arms against fellow Muslims, the state and other Nigerians.
Ethnic Ruling Deities : African, Jewish and European
Along similar lines as Allah with Islamic nationalism, deities in classical African religions may be deeply identified with ethnic nationalities. Examples include the Yoruba and Oduduwa, or the ethnic group the Shilluk and the deity Nyikang, and the Sonjo and the deity Khambageu, as described by Mbiti in African Religions and Philosophy . All these figures are ancestral spirit figures understood as progenitors of the race and active in the spirit realm in the life of that race.
The Nigerian Tribune article "How Ombatse Festered Unchecked", of Sunday, 19 May 2013, quotes an Ombatse member who corroborates this:
According to another member; 'we do climb the Eggon hill periodically; we pray to our ancestors whenever there is need to do so, as it was done by our parents and grandparents. This is called Ose Eggon, just as it is in any other tradition that you can think of.'
Summation- an oath to an African ethnic deity is not equivalent to "so help me God" in the Nigerian national anthem because the 'God' being spoken of in that anthem has no historical relationship with the Nigerian nation but is derived from another nation with whom He is described as having such a relationship, the people of Israel, also, the Nigerian nation has not been dedicated to that 'God', as some European countries could have dedicated themselves to the Christian God.
A reason for this accurate summation by yourself : "Of course a pledge to a traditional deity is far more potent" is beceause the deity and the ethnic group are understood to share an intimate relationship.
Classical African Religions as Agents of Military Force : Imperialistic, Defensive,
Revolutionary
Classical African religions have long been tools of state or revolutionary military power, both in the sense of conquering other peoples, for imperialist goals, as in Benin, for example, where the classical religion has the Oba as its most significant human centre of power, or in Haiti, where it played a central role in the military struggle to drive away the French slave masters, the oaths being sworn to a particular deity of that religion,Ezili Dantor, being described as the beginning of the military action that removed French settler's control of Haiti.
The development of the power of Asante originated in the alliance between the priest Okomfo Anokye and the king Osei Tutu. Anokye is described as drawing down from the sky the Golden Stool in which the soul of the Asante nation was made to reside through a ritual involving an albino being made to disappear into the stool, perhaps a euphemism for human sacrifice on top the stool.
Magic, at times involving such barbarisms as human sacrifice, plays a key role in how classical African religions were mobilized as instruments of war, such as Anokye's "incantations" are described as playing a key role in the Asante victory against Denkyera.
The Ombatse leader, Baba Alakoya, is quoted as boasting that his god killed the security men slaughtered in the recent massacre.
Weekly Trust of 4th June, 2013, in "Ombatse: Profile of Deadly Cult Group", describes the use of magical instruments, 'charms', in the late 2012 arson attack in
Assakio, a large settlement few kilometers from Lafia, along Shendam Road. The town which is inhabited by Eggons and Alagos, fell into the hands of arsonists who killed and burned in a clash that lasted days. The fighters dressed in traditional Eggon, and Alago styles, and brandished charms of various forms, as they sang war chants.
Therefore, its is very correct for the law enforcement agents to describe themselves as fearing an emergence of another fanatical and violent group, which like Boko Haram, pursues a religious/political/nationalistic agenda through force.
They are proved right through the murderous action of the Ombatse cultists, and its demonstration of the group as setting itself up against the Nigerian state as an equal agent in force able to assert its own authority against the agents of the state through the acquisition and use of weaponry it uses in killing agents of the state.
Ombatse History of Murder and Destruction
Reinforcing the most recent demonstration of the murderous violence of Ombatse, is the violent and murderous history of the group.
These violent and murderous activities have been evident even as far back as 2012, in such reports at "Nasarawa: Ombatse, Eggon Spiritual Group Unleash Mayhem" in Daily Trust of Wednesday, 21 November 2012:
Members of Ombatse, a spiritual group of the Eggon tribe of Nasarawa State, today attacked and unleashed terror on Agyaragu, an outskirt of Lafia, where they opened fire on targeted residences
of Koro people.
Information Nigeria of November 22, 2012 gives details of this attack and another one in "Nasarawa Mayhem: Traditional Ruler Burnt Alive":
...members of Ombatse, a die-hard spiritual group of the Eggon tribe, attacked Agyaragu on the outskirts of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, where they opened fire on targeted residences of Koro people in a crisis that stretched for 10 hours. Traditional ruler Zhe Meri, district head of Gidan Rai, and his elder sister were roasted to death in a house where they had taken refuge in Agyaragu. The charred remains of the traditional ruler's corpse and that of his sister were found in a corner of the burnt one-room apartment, which was part of a large compound sacked by Ombatse. [Elsewhere in] the now-deserted town, nine persons including children were killed and their bodies burnt. Most of the corpses had machete and axe cuts, and were burnt, either on the streets or inside houses burnt down.
Only last Saturday, hundreds of Ombatse members engaged three truckloads of soldiers and men of the State Security Service (SSS), and shot three personnel, after the security agents drove to Alogani Centre during an initiation ceremony, to make inquiries. The group later stormed out of the bush, and poured into Lafia-Akwanga Road, and obstructed traffic for about five hours, unleashing
violence on travelers…
Daily Trust of 25 November 2012 sums up the history and deadly, murderous activities of the group, also presenting points of view of its members in "Nasarawa Under the Iron Heel of Ombatse".
The most detailed summation I have seen of the terrorist character of the group is by Andrew McGregor in "Ombatse: Nigerian Religious Cult Joins War on the State in Central Nigeria" on May 17, 2013 in The Jamestown Foundation: Global Research and Analysis.
Whoever is behind this Ombatse nationalism just made the worst mistake in strategy they could have made.
I pray those who carried out these murders of law enforcement officers near Alakyo village and those who ordered or organized it are crushed.
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