“Which kain game be snake bite? Why you no comot your hand wen you hear snake bite?”
Dis na wetin Judith Monye, mama of nine-year-old boy wey dey primary 3 tell her pikin wen she discover say im get small wound for hand after e follow play di ‘snake bite game’ wit oda school pikins for Asaba di Delta State capital for southern Nigeria.
Mrs Monye say she notice di wound for her son hand wen she bin wan baff am and ask how e take get di wound and e say na game dem dey play for school.
“My son say di pesin wey give am di mark say na new game and so e use paper dey rub di back of im hand and e go say ‘snake’ and my son go say ‘bite’, na so dem go dey tok snake-bite, snake-bite until di mark appear and e tell am say make e go do anoda pikin.
“I vex for am and ask am weda na wetin I send am go do for school be dat, why im no run comot wen e hear snake for di game? E dey worry me but I don pray for am say notin go do am.” She tok.
Di above na di experience of one mama wey her son take part in wetin pipo dey allege say be ongoing initiation into cult for Delta State.
Video of boys wey take part in di game bin go viral for Nigeria social media as some viewers begin comment say di Secondary School children dey join cult in di guise say dem dey play ‘snake bite’ game.
Delta State Police Command later on Thursday say dia investigation show say di snake bite game na harmless game among school children and notin to worry about.
For statement, police tok-tok pesin DSP Bright Edafe explain say as soon as dem get di report, di Area Commander Asaba ACP Sunday Oladipo and him go one of di schools for on di spot investigation.
E say dem question di school pupils, teacher and one parent wey be mama to one of di affected pikin and find say na game for di school, tagged snake bite.
Di PPRO say im probe further and ask di school pikin to do how dem dey play di game for im hand and so,
“I offer my hand and di pikin use small white paper to rub di back of my palm wey give rise to di exact mark on di same spot wey dey wrongly portrayed as cult initiation by di activist.”
Di Command come urge parents to dey calm and ignore di alleged false claim.
Even wit di police findings, anoda mama, Chinenye Nwaguru say though Police say na mere game among school pikins, she dey concerned for her 13-year-old daughter wey also get same mark for di back of her hand from di snake bite game especially afta she read about snake bite for internet.
“I no wan believe say e get more spiritual meaning but if I think am deep, e dey give me serious concerns,” Chinenye tell BBC Pidgin.
“Which kain game be dat? Which kain spirit dey operate wen dem dey tok di snake bite, but I wan believe say na just mere play among children.
“My daughter sef come dey fear, she go one corner downstairs dey pray so I call her and both of us pray togeda.”
‘We dey look into di matter’ – Delta State Ministry of Primary Education
Delta state Commissioner for Primary Education, Sunday Onoriode tell BBC Pidgin say dem don begin look into di matter for some of di schools wey dem don receive report.
“We don issue statement immediately we see di tin online and we move in. Di good tin be say di human rights group wey discover am come our office to report and we don interface with di management of di schools and di parents.
We need to look into am critically to know weda or not na secret cult, to know di depth of am cos cultism na serious tin so we need to dey sure. So we dey investigate.” E tok.
Chief Onoriode come advise parents and guardians to closely monitor dia pikins and wards well to know wetin dey go on for dia lives so dem no go involve demsefs for such tins.
