Sources further note that eiye means bird in the Yoruba language ibid.

If this is anything to go by, a lot of people belong to a cult groups in Nigerian universities either knowingly or unknowingly whether they like or not.

However, in the Nigeria context, a cult usually carries with it a bad name due to the violent attached to it.

These cult groups usually have sign, symbols and languages they use which are unique to them.

Knowing these means getting a clue to know if someone is a cultist or not.

This article contains a list of all cult groups in Nigerian Universities together with their symbols.

Professor Wole Soyinka together with six of his friends at the University of Ibadan formed this confraternity.

Pyrate are the most popular cult group in the country and is registered as the National Association of Sea Dogs.

The symbol of this cult constitutes an anchor, a skull and two crossed bones.

This is another popular cult in Nigerian university that broke out from the Pyrate Confraternity.

I stated that some members of the confraternity left and created their own cult.

Buccaneers is the name of the cult and it genesis came when Bolaji Carew and some members were expelled from the pyrates in This was as a result of them not meeting the standard of the cult membership based on high academic and intellectual standards set by the sea-dogs.

Because of the close relation with Seadogs, some of their ways mirrors that of the Seadogs.Sources describe Eiye as a secret cult The Guardian 6 Nov.

Sources further indicate that Eiye is one of a number of similar groups active in Nigeria Ezeonu 19 Sept.

The same source states that Eiye remains true to the vision of her founders ibid.

The members have a specific functional and hierarchical role; they are connected by familiar or other relational ties ibid.

According to a study on violent fraternities at an unnamed university in southern Nigeria, which was published in the Journal of African American Studies, the leaders of most Nigerian fraternities are called Capones, as an allusion to the Chicago gangster Al Capone Ezeonu 19 Sept.

The same source explains that there is a hierarchy of Capones; the national Capone is like a Commander-in-Chief, while the campus-based Capones are like field commanders ibid.

The competition for all of these positions is reportedly vicious and to be chosen, the person must demonstrate daring acts of bravery, brutality and courage ibid.

An article published in the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard indicates that the majority of cult members are teenagers and youth and some are current and former students of tertiary institutions Vanguard 26 Oct.

Confraternities in Nigeria The same source states that, in individual and focus group interviews of 30 participants conducted for the purpose of the study, the Eiye Confraternity was identified as one of the most violent fraternities at the university Ezeonu 19 Sept.

The study notes that fraternities at the university, in general, use brutal and humiliating forms of hazing in their initiation ceremonies and that after initiation, new recruits are often required to undertake criminal acts such as obligatory rapes of women affiliated with rival gang members, armed robbery or physical attacks of faculty members ibid.

Information on membership cards could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Confraternities In Nigeria