Nigeria: The Black Axe confraternity [Aiye Confraternity; Ayee], also known as the Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM), including initiation, rituals, oaths of secrecy, and use of symbols or particular signs; whether they use force to recruit individuals; their treatment of anti-cultists; activities in Canada (2020–November 2022)
Information on the Black Axe confraternity was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
1. The Black Axe Confraternity
According to sources, the Black Axe confraternity is one of the "'most notorious'" (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019), or "most-feared organised crime syndicates" (BBC 13 Dec. 2021a), or one of the "more prominent confraternities/cults" in Nigeria (Australia 3 Dec. 2020, para. 3.131). The BBC indicates that secret societies, also known as "confraternities and campus cults," such as the Black Axe, are "banned in Nigeria" (BBC 2 June 2020).
1.1 Relationship Between the Black Axe Confraternity and the NBM
Sources indicate that the Black Axe emerged from the NBM (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019) or was originally known as the NBM (BBC 2 June 2020). However, media sources cite an NBM press statement as indicating that the group denies "any" connection to the Black Axe (Daily Trust 29 Dec. 2021; The Nigerian Observer 2 Oct. 2021). Sources report that the NBM "appeared on Nigerian [university] campuses in the Seventies as an emancipatory Black Power movement" (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019) or "emerged in the 1970s" to "'liberate' the black race" according to its founders; however, the BBC notes that "the group no longer seems to be driven by any political ideology" on university campuses (BBC 2 June 2020). Harper's Magazine, a magazine in the US that publishes articles on "politics, society, the environment, and culture" (Harper's Magazine n.d.), states that the NBM "claim their group has evolved from a campus fraternity into an international N.G.O. dedicated to 'equality and social justice for all'" (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019).
Harper's Magazine notes that according to law enforcement officials who have investigated the NBM, "growing criminality among its members has corrupted" the NBM and the organization "is now closely associated—if not synonymous—with the Black Axe" (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019). The BBC notes that the US "has labelled the NBM a 'criminal organisation' and says it is 'part of the Black Axe'," while "Canadian authorities have said that the Black Axe and NBM 'are the same'" (BBC 13 Dec. 2021a). However, the same source notes that the NBM "strongly denies links to the Black Axe, and the group's lawyers told the BBC that any Black Axe members found among its ranks were 'expelled immediately'" (BBC 13 Dec. 2021a). Other sources cite an NBM press statement as indicating that the NBM has "dissociated" itself from the Black Axe (Daily Trust 29 Dec. 2021; The Nigerian Observer 2 Oct. 2021) and that the NBM is "non-violent" (The Nigerian Observer 2 Oct. 2021).
According to Nigerian media sources, "[a]t least" one (Premium Times 25 Jan. 2021) or three persons (Vanguard 24 Jan. 2021) were killed in a clash between "rival cult groups," the Aiye and Black Axe confraternities, in January 2021 (Premium Times 25 Jan. 2021; Vanguard 24 Jan. 2021).
An article by Premium Times, a Nigerian online newspaper, on the NBM donating traffic shelters to the Osun State police, notes that the NBM is also known as the Black Axe or Ayee; a spokesperson for the Osun State police "did not deny nor confirm the donation" (Premium Times 9 Nov. 2019).
1.2 Initiation, Rituals, and Oaths of Secrecy
Information on initiation, rituals or oaths of secrecy was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
Sources report that "7/7" [7 July] is known as the "Neo Black Movement of Africa Day" or "Black Axe Day" (Pulse.ng 8 July 2022), or that "'7/7'" is celebrated by cult groups, particularly the NBM, as "a day of freedom," which according to Nigeria's police, "is also a day new members are initiated into the groups," that is "also use[d] as an opportunity to foment violence" (Premium Times 6 July 2022). However, the NBM website indicates in a press release that 7 July is "not recognized" by the group as a founding date and that holding celebration events on that day is "illegal" (NBM 6 July 2022).
Citing a 2016 post by a Black Axe member on a "secret forum," the BBC describes this member's initiation, which included being whipped, crawling through people's legs in "a tradition known as the 'devil's passage' - before drinking blood from a cut in his thumb and chewing a kola nut" (BBC 13 Dec. 2021b). Harper's Magazine similarly reports on an account by another Black Axe member where new members were "lashed … with sticks" during their initiation (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019).
1.3 Use of Symbols or Particular Signs
According to the BBC, the NBM logo is "a black axe breaking chains" (BBC 13 Dec. 2021b). According to the website of the NBM, the organization's symbol is the axe and is "used to break the chain of oppression and social[] injustice and other ills that have impaired the progress of people of colour worldwide" (NBM n.d.). The same source states that the NBM colours are black to represent the Black people, white to signify peace and purity of mind and body, and yellow for strength and intellect (NBM n.d.). The Nigerian Observer, a newspaper owned by the Edo State government (The Nigerian Observer n.d.), cites an NBM press statement as indicating that the NBM logo has been "'plagiaris[ed]'" (The Nigerian Observer 2 Oct. 2021).
2. Whether the Black Axe Uses Force to Recruit Individuals
Sources indicate that the Black Axe has approximately 30,000 members (BBC 13 Dec. 2021b; NBM n.d.) "global[ly]" (NBM n.d.).
According to BBC, "[s]ome recruits are forced, others volunteer" (BBC 13 Dec. 2021b). Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) reports that volunteers who join confraternities/cults are "motivated by the opportunity to earn money and gain power," while "some" join due to "peer pressure," "threat of reprisal or to gain protection" (Australia 3 Dec. 2020, para. 3.130).
In an August 2022 interview with the Nigerian Tribune, an English-language newspaper in Nigeria, a former leader of a Black Axe group in Ekpoma, Edo State, who was recently arrested, recounted that he agreed to join the "cult" in 2020 in exchange for learning to be a "'Yahoo guy'" [Yahoo Boy; an online "[s]cammer" (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019)], from an individual more "'senior'" to him in Ekpoma; the former group leader stated that despite knowing that such activities are illegal, he wanted to become one to provide for his mother and siblings (Nigerian Tribune 30 Aug. 2022). The newspaper reports that in addition to the former group leader, a recent university graduate and undergraduate students at the same university were among suspects who were reported by police to have recently confessed to belonging to the Black Axe confraternity (Nigerian Tribune 30 Aug. 2022). The group leader indicated being "'tortured'" with a whip during his initiation into the group and that he "'had no choice other than to go through [it] all'," and was not informed of what would happen during the initiation (Nigerian Tribune 30 Aug. 2022).
Another arrested "suspect" from the same university as the group leader, also interviewed for the Nigerian Tribune article, described how he was approached by a Black Axe member, after becoming Secretary General of his faculty, and told he was "'intelligent'" and could become "'the President'" (Nigerian Tribune 30 Aug. 2022). According to the student, "'[t]hey told me that I would follow them to a party and later become a full member, but I later discovered that it was not a party but a group of boys in the bush for initiation. There was no way I could reject because there was serious torture throughout the night'" (Nigerian Tribune 30 Aug. 2022).
In an interview for a September 2020 article in Vanguard, a newspaper in Nigeria, a 23-year-old man described how he lost his vision after a 2016 attack at a street festival in the Ketu area of Lagos, in which he was stabbed in both eyes by members of the Black Axe for "refusing to join the confraternity" (Vanguard 25 Sept. 2020). According to the article, the victim recounted being "consistently" approached by an individual who lived in his neighbourhood to join the group, and the victim stated that he was punished "'as an example to others'" (Vanguard 25 Sept. 2020).
3. Treatment of Anti-Cultists
Information on the treatment of anti-cultists by the Black Axe could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. However, the following information may be of interest.
Vanguard reports that the leader of a Black Axe group in Ogun State confessed to having "kill[ed] riva[l]" cultists, and "cut off their hands" to "prepare protection charms" (Vanguard 6 Aug. 2022).
4. Activities in Canada
The Globe and Mail reports that according to police, the Black Axe "has been exerting growing influence over the Nigerian diaspora in Canada as well as engaging in organized crime – everything from fraud, money laundering and intimidation" (The Globe and Mail 10 July 2018). Harper's Magazine notes that Canada "regards the Black Axe as an official criminal organization" and cites a Detective Constable of the Toronto Police Service who works on Black Axe cases as indicating that "more than 70 percent" of the Black Axe members he has investigated "have been arrested or convicted of a crime" (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019). For example, the same article states that police in Canada have investigated "romance scams, in which bogus admirers charm elderly women into sending them cash," operated by the Black Axe (Harper's Magazine Sept. 2019). The Globe and Mail states that the Black Axe in Canada "specializes" in "scamming" and that, according to [the same Detective Constable cited above], the group "tries to maintain a public image of volunteerism" (The Globe and Mail 12 Nov. 2015). According to the BBC, authorities in Canada "broke up a money-laundering scheme linked to Black Axe worth in excess of $5bn" in 2017 (BBC 13 Dec. 2021a). In a 2015 article, Vice, a magazine and online news publication based in New York, reports that according to police in Toronto, the Black Axe "has been exerting 'undue influence over the Nigerian diaspora' in Canada, as well as engaging in organized crime and violence" (Vice 17 Dec. 2015). According to the same source, in October 2015 police in Toronto charged three men "linked to the Black Axe" for "allegedly defraud[ing] a Toronto woman of $609,000" and in December 2015 the police "laid an additional 640 charges and arrested another 18 people allegedly involved in the theft of over 500 SUVs, all worth about $30 million" (Vice 17 Dec. 2015).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Australia. 3 December 2020. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). DFAT Country Information Report: Nigeria. [Accessed 8 Sept. 2022]
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 13 December 2021a. "Black Axe: Leaked Documents Shine Spotlight on Secretive Nigerian Gang." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2022]
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 13 December 2021b. "The Ultra-Violent Cult that Became a Global Mafia." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2022]
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 2 June 2020. Helen Oyibo. "Nigeria's Campus Cults: Buccaneers, Black Axe and Other Feared Groups." [Accessed 8 Sept. 2022]
Daily Trust. 29 December 2021. Abdullateef Salau. "Neo-Black Movement Dissociates Self from Cult Group, Black Axe." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2022]
The Globe and Mail. 10 July 2018. Michelle Zilio and Robert Fife. "Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen Spoke at Venue Known as Criminal Hangout; Spokesman Says Immigration Minister Was Unaware Restaurant Has Been Frequented by Members of the Black Axe Crime Group." (Factiva) [Accessed 27 Oct. 2022]
The Globe and Mail. 12 November 2015. Selena Ross. "Shadowy Black Axe Group Leaves Trail of Tattered Lives." [Accessed 3 Oct. 2022]
Harper's Magazine. September 2019. Sean Williams. "The Black Axe: How a Pan-African Freedom Movement Lost Its Way." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2022]
Harper's Magazine. N.d. "About Harper's Magazine." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2022]
Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM). 6 July 2022. "NBM Disassociates Self from July 7 Celebration." [Accessed 27 Oct. 2022]
Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM). N.d. "History." [Accessed 21 Oct. 2022]
The Nigerian Observer. 2 October 2021. Emmanuel Ikhenebome. "Group Disassociates Self from Purported Black Axe Member Who Harassed, Dehumanized Tik Tok User, Set to Take Action." [Accessed 9 Sept. 2022]
The Nigerian Observer. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 25 Oct. 2022]
Nigerian Tribune. 30 August 2022. Oluwatoyin Malik. "I Joined Cult to Learn 'Yahoo' Methods from a Friend in Order to Fend for My Mum, Siblings —Aiye Confraternity Leader." [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]
Premium Times. 6 July 2022. Olasunkanmi Akinlotan and Oluwakemi Adelagun. "Police Battle-Ready as Cultists Prepare '7/7 Day' Celebration." [Accessed 27 Oct. 2022]
Premium Times. 25 January 2021. Ieoluwa Adediran. "One Dead, 12 Arrested as Rival Cults Clash in Lagos." [Accessed 27 Oct. 2022]
Premium Times. 9 November 2019. Adejumo Kabir. "Trending: Controversy Trails Black Axe's 'Donation' to Police." [Accessed 27 Oct. 2022]
Pulse.ng. 8 July 2022. Damilare Famuyiwa. "Police Raise Alarm over Cultists' Plan to Celebrate Anniversary." [Accessed 27 Oct. 2022]
Vanguard. 6 August 2022. Evelyn Usman. "We Kill Rivals, Cut Off Their Hands for Rituals — Self-Confessed Cultist." [Accessed 3 Oct. 2022]
Vanguard. 24 January 2021. Olasunkanmi Akoni. "Three Feared Dead as Rival Cult Groups Clash Again in Coker-Aguda, Lagos." [Accessed 27 Oct. 2022]
Vanguard. 25 September 2020. Evelyn Usman. "How Cultists Blinded Me for Refusing to Join Group." [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]
Vice. 17 December 2015. Tamara Khandaker. "The Notorious Black Axe Has Put Down Roots in Canada." [Accessed 3 Oct. 2022]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: assistant professor at a university in the UK who focuses on African history, cities, and culture; associate professor at an American university who focuses on secret societies and sorcery in Africa; associate professor at an American university who focuses on terrorism and communication, as well as symbolism in terrorism; associate professor at a Canadian university who focuses on African history; emeritus professor of African cultural anthropology at a university in the UK who focuses on popular culture and religion; Neo Black Movement of Africa; Nigeria – Nigeria Police Force; professor at an American university who focuses on African traditions; professor at an American university who focuses on ethnicity, nationalism, racial and urban formations, elites, state and civil society in Africa; professor at an American university who focuses on identity in modern Africa; professor at an American university who focuses on Nigerian history since the precolonial era; professor at an American university who focuses on sociocultural anthropology in West Africa; professor at a Nigerian university who focuses on African traditional and cultural practices; professor at a Nigerian university who focuses on cultural studies; professor at a Nigerian university who focuses on identity and history in Africa; professor at a Nigerian university who focuses on policing, organized crime, and sociology; professor at a Nigerian university who focuses on religion and culture in Nigeria; professor of African studies and African diaspora studies at an American university; professor of African studies at a university in the UK; professor at a university in the UK who focuses on race relations and cultural politics in Africa; research fellow at an American university who focuses on cultural history in Africa; senior lecturer at a Nigerian university who focuses on the prevalence of ritual practices in Nigeria; senior scholar at an American university within the African studies program.
Internet sites, including: Africa Confidential; African Arguments; African Examiner; Al Jazeera; Aljazirah Nigeria; Amnesty International; Austrian Red Cross – ecoi.net; Belgium – Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons; Bertelsmann Stiftung; Brookings Institution; Buzz Nigeria; TheCable; Center for Strategic and International Studies; Channels Television; CKN News; Concise News; Council on Foreign Relations; The Daily Champion; Daily Nigerian; Daily Review Online; Economic Confidential; Elevate News Nigeria; Elombah News; ENigeria Newspaper; EU – EU Agency for Asylum; Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria; Fédération internationale pour les droits humains; France – Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides; Freedom House; The Fund for Peace; GhanaWeb; The Guardian [Nigeria]; The Guardian [UK]; The Herald [Nigeria]; Human Rights Watch; InfoGuide Nigeria; InfoStride News; Institute for War and Peace Reporting; International Crisis Group; INTERPOL; Leadership; Legit.ng; Médecins sans frontières; Metro Daily Nigeria; Metrotimes; Metrowatch; Minority Rights Group International; Naija News; Netherlands – Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The New Humanitarian; news24; NewsDay; News Agency of Nigeria; Nigeria – National Human Rights Commission; Nigeria Watch; Nigerian Television Authority; Norway – Landinfo; Okay.ng; Organisation suisse d'aide aux réfugiés; Orient Daily; People's Daily; Peoples Gazette; Pointblank News; The Punch; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Realnews Magazine; Reporters sans frontières; Republican Nigeria; Ripples Nigeria; Sahara Reporters; Sowetan Live; SPY Nigeria; The Sun; This Day; TimesLIVE; Transparency International; UK – Home Office; UN – Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, Refworld, UNDP, UN Women, WHO; Wilson Center; US – Department of State, Library of Congress; Voice of Nigeria; World Bank.