Specific reference to a cult known as Ekpe na Mboko could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

However, references to the Ekpe cult (Post Express 13 Mar. 2001; Chukwuma 2001, 127; Ijele 2000), Ekpe society (LAM n.d.) and Ekpe secret society (Express and Echo 7 Jan. 2003; WAR n.d.) were found among the sources consulted.

In his paper entitled "Police Transformation in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects," Innocent Chukwuma describes the Ekpe cult, which exists among the Efiks of southern Nigeria, as a community-based police service rooted in the community to maintain law and order (2001, 127). A document published on the West Africa Review (WAR) Website in a section on Biafra, includes the following information on the Ekpe:

One of the most common of these societies was the Ekpe (also known as Egbo, Akang, Ekpo etc.) which also corresponded to the Owuogbo of the Delta in its functions. These secret societies were used to uphold the legal decisions of the Council of Elders or of the community as a whole, they also ensured conformity in certain rituals and in social behaviour and undertook certain public works for the community (n.d.).

An article by the Exeter-based daily newspaper, the Express and Echo (Hold the Front Page 13 Apr. 2002), on the mask of Aro Chuku, states that the Ekpe is the "most widespread secret society" in southeast Nigeria (7 Jan. 2003).

Mario Pissarra's review of Keith Nicklin's book on the Ekpu refers to the Epke, which he describes as the leopard spirit cult (8 Sept. 2000). Although the Lowe Art Museum identifies the Ekpe as a "graded men's society that serves as the effective government in the otherwise leaderless villages" of the Cross River region (n.d.), Onyile Bassey Onyile, in her article on the Efik ideal of femininity, states that the Nyoro dance of the Ebonko masquerade of the Ekpe cult represents women's involvement in the Ekpe cult (2000).

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 to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Chukwuma, Innocent. 2001. "Police Transformation in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects." Paper presented at the Crime and Policing in Transitional Societies conference by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the South African Institute for International Affairs. Seminar Reports Series. http://www.kas.org.za/Publications/SeminarReports/Crimeandpolicingintransitionalsocieties/chukwuma.pdf [Accessed 14 May 2003]

Express and Echo [Exeter]. 7 January 2003. "From the Archives: Mask, South-East Nigeria." (NEXIS)

Hold the Front Page. 13 April 2002. Nikki Sargeson. "Echo Is 'Daily Newspaper of the Year.'" http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/awards/020413swbt.shtml [Accessed 15 May 2003]

Ijele: Art eJournal of the African World (Ijele). 2000. Vol. 1, No. 1. Onyile Bassey Onyile. "Abang Dance: Radiance from the River and Efik Ideal of Femininity." http://www.ijele.com/ijele/vol1.1/onyile.html [Accessed 14 May 2003]

Lowe Art Museum (LAM). n.d. "Janus-Faced Helmet Mask, 20th Century." http://www.lowemuseum.org/92.0020.html [Accessed 14 May 2003].

Pissarra, Mario. 8 September 2000. "The Ekpu Legacy: Book Review of The Oron Ancestor Figures of South Eastern Nigeria by Keith Nicklin." http://www.cloudband.com/frames.mhtml/magazine/articles4q00/book_pissarra_ekpu_0900.html [Accessed 14 May 2003]

Post Express. 13 March 2001. "Nigeria: Anyim Commends Arochukwu's Role in Nigerian Politics." (Africa News/NEXIS)

West Africa Review (WAR). n.d. "Introducing the Republic of Biafra." http://www.westafricareview.com/war/vol2.2/biafra/republic.htm [Accessed 14 May 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Internet sites, including:

Adherents.com

Africa Online

AllAfrica.com

Apologetics Index

BBC Africa

Daily Times Online

Nigeria Daily

Vanguard

The Yoruba Page

Search engine:

Google