Ogun Police intensify youth campaign against cultism, drug abuse

By Adebola Muili

The Ogun State Police Command has intensified its campaign against cultism, substance abuse, cybercrime and other social vices through youth sensitisation, academic advocacy and community engagement.

The Command said the initiative was part of efforts to strengthen non-kinetic crime prevention in line with the strategic directives of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, psc(+), NPM, on intelligence-led and community-driven policing.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ogun State, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, August 16, 2026, detailing two recent youth-focused engagements organised by the Command.

According to him, the first engagement was his participation in the 8th Set Academic Seminar of the Mass Communication Department, Al-Hikmah University, Abeokuta Study Centre, where he delivered a paper titled, “Substance Abuse and National Insecurity: Building Responsible Youth Through Entrepreneurship.”

Addressing lecturers, media stakeholders and undergraduate students, Babaseyi said substance abuse remained a major catalyst for violent crimes, including cultism, armed robbery and cybercrime.

He urged youths to embrace entrepreneurship as a means of economic empowerment and a strategy for promoting responsible living and national security.

The PPRO also stressed the role of media practitioners in shaping responsible public discourse and influencing young people positively.

In a related development, the Ogun State chapter of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), led by its State Coordinator and Deputy PPRO, ASP Opeyemi Oluborode, partnered with the Peace Club Abeokuta, affiliated with the World Peace Initiative Foundation, during the “Better Me Tournament.”

The tournament brought together undergraduates from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and other tertiary institutions across the state.

Oluborode and members of the POCACOV team used the occasion to sensitise the students on self-discipline, personal leadership, the dangers of gang involvement and other social vices.

The Command maintained that while enforcement operations against criminal elements remained ongoing, preventive education and value orientation were critical to achieving lasting solutions to youth-related crimes.

It therefore called on academic institutions, civil society organisations, parents and community leaders to collaborate with the police in guiding young people towards productive and crime-free lifestyles.