How An Ex-Convict Confessed and Gave His Life To Christ At Dunamis Church

Campus cults have constituted a major threat to academic programmes in the nation’s tertiary institutions. These cults encourage moral ruin, murder, terrorism, sexual harassment, rape, armed robbery and prostitution.

Consequently, the campus, which ought to be a centre for knowledge acquisition has become devil’s nest for cult activities. There are intimidations, tortures and murders. Morality seems to have gone to zero degree and academic pursuits, which should be of primary importance, has been relegated to secondary priority.

In a chat with Abuja Metro, 29-year-old Evangelist Levi Chirkpi, a self-confessed cultist, robber and murderer, who had killed and robbed on the highways, streets and banks, said he has turned a new leaf and now has a foundation where he preaches against the vices in the society.

His Foundation

Evangelist Chirkpi is the founder of Renewed Mind Foundation that is committed to redemption, transformation and rehabilitation of lives and setting people free from the grip of societal vices like cultism, examination malpractices, rape, armed robbery, prostitution, drug addiction, kidnapping, assassination and cyber crime.

He leads his team to schools, prisons, hospitals, communities and police stations, urging people flee from societal vices; guiding and counseling people against violence and crimes.

He said: “We organise leadership training programmes, talk shows and distribute purposeful materials to help people reject all forms of societal vices, basically ensuring total rehabilitation of transformed minds and win their souls. We have held programmes in schools and prisons, programmes like counter societal vices awareness campaigns, counseling sessions, talents and skills acquisition and development, welfare and after-care services.

“The manifestation of this vision was on the wind of November, 2014, as I watched over 20 secret cult members answer the alter call made by the senior pastor of Dunamis International Gospel, Pastor Paul Eneche after my testimony.”

The Journey
Although he came from a good Christian background, with his father as a deacon, Chirkpi became a cultist right from JSS 3 and grew from one level of vain power to another until he attained the highest. It caused him a lot of setback and pain. He was expelled from school s, jailed and he became an evil to his family. Now, his mess has become his message.

Initiation
His words:”It started in JSS 3 at Federal Government College (FGC),Vandeikya, Benue State; but I was expelled in SS 2. It was a peer group thing, coming together as friends and then trying to give ourselves title, mention those we will associate and disassociate with. Then, the other cult group got to know that we were impersonating to be a cult group; so they came and initiated us formally into the cult. Then I became a Black Skull member.

“We were asked to pay money for the materials needed for initiation, like the regalia, candles, alcohol and some other funny things for their concoction. But the alcohol is to make you strong, so that you don’t give up; because the initiation process is usually for a whole night, from 9pm to 4am for both boys and girls. The initiation was done in the bush or far from school, never within school. That was for secondary school.

“After secondary school, I joined Black Axe. In secondary school, it was called Black Skull, while in the higher institution it is called Black Axe. I joined it before I got admission into the university, because I was running my IJMB programme at College of Advance and Professional Studies (CAPS), Markurdi.

“When I got to University of Maiduguri in Borno State, we had to go through another initiation process. During the initiation process, we went through physical torture. We were beaten from about 9pm till 3am when the real initiation will begin. They would use anything available to hit you. Anyway, before you enter the bush, you must pull off your clothes and be only in your boxers. Everyone that comes for the initiation process must beat you and match on you. They keep beating you and if you survive, fine; if you don’t, they will bury you there, and nobody exposes it.

Reason for the beating
“The reason for the torture is that they want their members to be hardened, so that no matter how much they are tortured, when arrested by the police or the enemy of the cult, they would not reveal the secrets of the group.
“In the case of girls, all the men that attended the initiation night must have sex with them. If 100 men attended an initiation night, the 100 men must have sex with all of them. It is a must, and without condom.

After Initiation

“After the initiation, I felt aroused; I felt I could do anything, more like a superman. I became bold. The kicker is that, I discovered that the spirit of anger entered me; then, I could easily get angry. I was called “Aye South Africa One.” We had temples all over Nigerian universities, including Benue State University. That one is called IFI ONE.

Exploits as a cultist
“I introduced the carrying of guns and fighting with guns. I was shipping the arms from Benue State to Maiduguri. We used government commercial vehicles, because they hardly search state transport vehicles like Benue Links. The drivers did not know. We then sell them to student cultists in Black Axe, Vikings and other cultists.

“I kidnapped a former governor’s girlfriend. It was a popular story in Benue State. It was a contract. I was paid N5 million for the contract. After I was arrested, his ADC, who came with the governor to see me happened to be a member of my group. He asked who told me they were coming to arrest me, and I told him that it was one SM in the government house that leaked the secret to me. He said I was lucky because the governor asked them to kill me in the hotel. They later arrested me in the public place, so they could not kill me because people were aware that they had arrested me.

“It happened that way because every cult has its members in all police headquarters in all the states. Not only the police, but all uniformed workers, including the military. There is no way a Black Axe man or a Vikings man will not have a brother there. So, there is a network and that is why government cannot help the situation.

“I caused riot in school. We fought with our rival group, Vikings, in the school, with weapons. I was actually caught by the school authorities and that was how I was expelled.

Robbery
The root cause of major robberies in the country is cultism. Someone who is not educated cannot think of how to rob a bank, because he does not know the value of such big money. I never thought I would ever rob because I was privileged to come from a family where everything was provided. But it started with cultism, because the cult group will want to dominate and control the campus. There is this very particular one that causes me pain, each time I think about it. My friend, who was an architecture student in Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, had issues in school. He spilled over and his father was not happy with him, so he decided to withdraw most of the privileges given to him, including money. Then, his girlfriend was pregnant and was desperately looking for money for abortion. He came begging me to borrow him N500,000. I actually had the money but I told him, I did not have. I told him that if he drove me somewhere, I would give him more than the amount.

“He came the next day and we drank till evening; then, he drove me to a place and was killed there. What happened was, although he was a cultist, he had never robbed before. That was his first time to rob. I can’t forget this because he had a bright future and I felt like I killed him. During those days I was a cultist 34 of my friends died.

Deals with politicians and senators
“Not only were we used by politicians, some senators were members. We had a former governor, but then he was serving. I was one of those who initiated him. The politicians are sharp guys; anything that will make a governor or senator to allow university boys to use razor blade to cut his hand for initiation is because he needs help. They use us to get where they want. In 2011, when I was arrested, It was because a serving governor then, needed arms for election. I had to go to Maiduguri to arrange with some Fulani to bring the arms from Chad. It was in the process that I was arrested.

Contact with Boko Haram members
“Most of these Boko Haram boys are cultists. For example, my friend, Mubarak, was a Christian. I personally initiated him into cultism. Just one week after he was initiated, he met Mohammed Yusuf and he sent him to Afghanistan to learn how to shoot guns and other things. I did not know his whereabouts till I met him in prison, but he has been converted to Islam. Even in prison, Boko Haram is increasing by the day. They are recruiting more members. In fact, I was almost becoming one of them in the prison. Maiduguri prison is very strict, so they communicate through 'bagco bags'. You know, papers don’t enter or leave the prison yard. What they do is once they have a new recruit, they use marker to write inside a Bago bag, the names and location of some of their members and send it to you there. So, Boko Haram is increasing. Some people entered prison for minor cases, but came out with Boko Haram mentality. They promise a lot of money. An ordinary Boko Haram member you see on the street is a stark illiterate. What I mean is, he does not know how to do anything. People behind fixing of bombs are well advanced. So, if somebody who is advanced and well-read joins Boko Haram, he must be given a very big reward or promised a big reward.”

“Mohammed Yusuf was somebody I knew very well. He was an easy going person and calm. Yusuf was not rich, he was empowered by people who I don’t know. I said he was an easy going person because, let me give you an example, right now, if you come close to me, will you know I am an easy going person. But when it comes to issues of the gospel, I am radical. I preach the gospel with all the strength in me. I preach against secret societal vices with passion, seriousness and all brutality; but if you take me to another place I might be a coward. So, you are brutal with what you believe in or when it comes to what you want to achieve. That was the same with Mohammed Yusuf.

Jailed and converted
I was arrested in 2011 and jailed for three years. I just got released in 2014. That was when I had an encounter with God. I was caught with arms, but before then, I had a pending case in court. So, I was having two different cases in two state High Courts. I had no hope of coming out because I had about 16 witnesses to testify against me. Not only that, I was caught with everything they needed to nail me. Even my lawyer did not believe I could come out of the case. My only hope was to break the jail. I attempted to break the jail because it was my last hope, but I failed and was arrested and taken to a special place. That was the sixth time i went to jail, but that was the first time I spent more than a week in jail. This time around, my parents were not willing to help; they only prayed for me. That was when I came back to my senses and I began to see that this was not me; this was not the person I wanted to be initially. I began to see that something was wrong somewhere, that I was actually wrong. My prayer then was that God should help me to come out of jail so that I can put an end to these things. I became so bitter with the devil to the extent that I began to sit for the first time and count how many friends I lost from 2009 to 2012 and I discovered that I lost 34 friend; my crime partners with whom I planned how to go and execute crimes.

Repentance
“I thank God so much for my life today as I look back to where God picked me from and where I am today. More than 30 of my former friends are no more alive to share their experiences but I thank God that for this purpose, he fought the battle of my life and saved me from serial murder attacks, armed robberies, political thuggery and dangers of cultism which I exposed myself to. Today, I am an evangelist, president/founder of the Renewed Mind Foundation International, saved by God and anointed with the mandate to transform and rehabilitate lives; building the nation and setting mankind free from the strangle hold of societal vices like cultism, exam malpractice, rape, armed robbery, prostitution, drug addiction, kidnapping, assassination, cyber crime and their perils. A lot of cultists and prostitutes have been saved through this platform.

“From experience, I would say cultism is the mother of crime in our society and the purpose of my existence is to educate the people on the dangers and implications of this vice that the devil is using in this generation to kill, steal and destroy the destinies of youths. It was in the prison after my conversion and repentance from the evil works of my past, that God said to me repeatedly, “Your mess is your message.” Having heard clearly from God, I abandoned all my ill-gotten wealth and properties in restitution and I must testify that God has been so faithful.

“I have since my conversion, enjoyed so much of God’s presence. God has been using me to bring salvation, healing and deliverance to many and I am sure he will do same with anyone who comes to him in repentance. Nobody is too sinful to be accepted and used by God. If he could do so much with me despite my criminal background and blood- stained hands, no one is disqualified, who turns from evil.”

Where did we go wrong with Fulani herdsmen?
For residents of Agojeju, a boundary community between Omala and Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Monday, November 9, 2015 will ever remain a day of sadness. On this fateful day, Fulani herdsmen in their numbers descended on the community, burnt down houses and left over 18 persons, including women and children dead. Numerous others managed to escape with injuries.
Before the attack, two men working on their farms were butchered by the same herdsmen at Obakume. Also, a man and his pregnant wife were found in the pool of their own blood in their farm within the same month. The villagers said the rate of serial killings in the community has been alarming.

Checks revealed that the residents of the communities, including Agojeju, Agbenema, Ajolo, Abejikolo down to Bagana have been running helter-skelter looking for a safe place to hide for fear of being hacked down.

Over 95 per cent of people living in these communities are peasant farmers but they hardly go to their farms for over seven months. Consequently, feeding has become very difficult and life unbearable for residents.

Despite all these, no arrest has been made, even with the presence of the military in Omala Local Government Area. Some of the villagers whose relations live in the urban areas have already relocated, leaving those who have nowhere to run to at the mercy of the invaders. Already, thousands of residents have abandoned their ancestral homes for fear of the unknown. The common question in the communities is, for how long will these people live like this?

Travelling along that same route has become risky. The market women who always take their wares to Bagana market, one of the largest markets along the River Benue in Omala Local Government Area of the State can no longer go to buy and sell because the market was burnt down early this year.

Indigenes of these communities have appealed to the Federal and State governments to quickly find a lasting solution to the lingering problem. “We are known to be peace loving people. We do not know where we got it wrong, why these poor farmers would not have the freedom to work in their farms; where people cannot sleep and close their eyes. Our children can no longer go to school because they have been internally displaced from their own communities. Market women can no longer go about their businesses,” said one of the community leaders.

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