The following information was obtained from a Website identified as that of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity (ROF). Section 15 of the constitution provides the following information on the initiation and enrolment of new members:

1. Applicant shall write an application naming three (3) members as referees of which at least preferably two (2) shall be members of that Iledi. All application for membership shall be submitted to the Apena of the Conclave for the onward consideration of the Executive Body.

2. Application shall be read by the Apena at the open Conclave meeting and after there is no preliminary objection the applicant shall be issued with form 3.

3. Applications and admission fees which shall be determined from time to time by the Supreme Council shall be paid by the Applicant to the Apena in the presence of one (1) of his/her sponsors.

4. There shall be a Character Investigation Committee in every Conclave. No candidates shall be admitted until thorough investigation as to his/her character has been made by that Committee which shall report its findings to the Executive Body of the Conclave for final decision.

5. In the case of a female candidate, the applicant shall further be introduced or referred to the Iyabiye and her Erelu together with a copy of the completed form 3 for thorough enquiries, and their report shall be passed to the Executive Body of the Iledi.

6. It shall be the duty of the Apena of every Conclave to send Notice of application for admission on R.O.F. Form 4 to:

(i) The Branches in the Division, as the case may be, in which the Home Town of birth place of the applicant is situated.

(ii) The Branches in the Division in which the applicant seeks admission, and

(iii) The Central Registry of the Fraternity, at the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity, 38 Abeokuta Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos State Nigeria.

7. Thereafter the Apena of the Conclave shall, at the next Idaji meeting of the Conclave read out the particulars of the Applicant as stated in the R.O.F. form 4 so that all members may be aware of the particulars of the applicants.

8. The name shall be read out at two (2) more subsequent monthly Idaji meetings for all members to make enquiries about the candidate and to have opportunity to raise an objection privately to any member of the Executive Committee of the Conclave.

9. (i) The details of the Candidates must be presented to the Divisional Council of the Conclaves to which the application is directed for the consideration and approval or rejection of the Divisional Council before the initiation of the Candidate.

(ii) The candidate shall be interviewed by the Executive Body of the Conclave to determine his/her suitability.

(iii) If there is no objection by any member of the Conclave, or by any member of the Fraternity or from any other Conclave within the stipulated 3 months and approval approval of the Division Council the Candidate may be initiated in open Conclave

10. Candidates (male/female) for initiation must be presented to the Iyabiye before they are initiated.

11. If the Candidate is rejected either by any member of Conclave itself or by any member in the Branches or in any Region or Division or from the Headquarters of the Fraternity, his/her name shall be forwarded to the Divisional Council to which the Conclave belongs and the Central Registry for record purposes.

12. Objection to a Candidate shall be on reasonable grounds, and what is reasonable in this connection is primarily a matter for the Division, and if necessary an appeal to the Executive Council.

13. All candidates shall be initiated according to the approved rituals before enrolment as members after rituals in open Conclave and in regular Idaji Meeting day.

14. By special dispensation of the Olori Oluwo and/or the Olori Apena, and the Supreme Council a deserving Candidate may be initiated without the above formalities.

15. Initiation and Exaltation shall be in open Conclave unless in special cases sanctioned by the Olori Oluwo and/or the Olori Apena on the recommendation of the Alakoso of the Division under which the Conclave is classified.

16. An offspring of any member of approved character and in good financial position in the records and accounting books of a Conclave may be admitted into the Fraternity by initiation at half the prescribed fee. He/she may however not be elevated into higher ranks without the payment of the requisite fees.

17. Certificate of Membership shall be issued on attainment of the rank of Ogboni in open Conclave and shall be signed by the Olori Oluwo, the Olori Apena, the Oluwo and the Apena of the concerned Conclave upon payment of requisite fees to the Headquarters.

18. A list of new member shall be forwarded by every Apena to the Central Registry at Ebute-Metta immediately after initiation and Exaltation. Such list shall include full names of each member and dates of his/her initiation and exaltation, with a prescribed from time to time for Registration by the Supreme Council.

19. Every Apena shall have a Register in which names of all members of his Conclave shall be recorded showing details of the member's progression as dates initiated etc.

20. (a) No person who is a member of the Aboriginal Fraternity shall be admitted either as a visitor or joining member of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity until he/she has passed through the Ceremony of Initiation and Exaltation in accordance with the R.O.F. ritual.

(b) Distinguished member of the aboriginal Fraternity whose rite is primitive may be admitted as visitors to afford them an opportunity of seeing better light with a view to improvement, but shall on no account be present at the working of the Fraternity until they shall have passed through the Ceremony of Initiation and Exaltation in accordance with the Reformed ritual.

21. All members of duly initiated and exalted shall regard themselves as Omo Iya (Children of the same Mother) and shall act towards one another as such and are duty bound to help one another without detriment to themselves or their connections or injustice to others who are not members of the Fraternity.

22. The duty of every Conclave is to see to the remains of any deceased member, to provide a Coffin up to limited Expenditure and to give his/her remains decent deposit in the bosom of Mother Earth and also by contributing to the funeral expenses.

23. A visitor from a Conclave may affiliate to any Conclave on showing a Clearance Certificate from his/her Conclave and on payment of a fee in accordance with the Bye- Laws of the Conclave.

24.(a) No member of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity should become a member or have himself initiated into the Aboriginal Conclave. Any member who offends this rule is liable to dismissal from the membership of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity.

(b) No members of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity may greet the Aboriginal Cult in the name of any Reformed Ogboni Conclave or pose as a representative of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity without the sanctions of the Olori Oluwo and the Olori Apena.

(c) Any member of the Aboriginal Cult who is accepted and initiated into the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity shall not be promoted beyond Ogboni grade until he/she has purged himself/herself of the membership of Ogboni Aboriginal Cult (ibid.).

Please see also the attached copy of the application form for membership in The Reformed Ogboni Fraternity (Incorporated) (n.d.).

The constitution also provides that "No member of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity shall, under any circumstance, be allowed to continue membership of the Fraternity on conviction for felony, or any other dishonest or fraudulent offence, by a Court of competent jurisdiction" (ibid.).

With regard to membership in the ROF, Olori Apena, a leader of the ROF stated:

we do not advertise, we don't canvass people. Whoever wants to join must believe and embrace a non-idolatrous faith in God.

Such an applicant must have attained at least age 21 if male, and 40 if female. But a wife of a member may be initiated if she is not less than 30. A member may also propose for admission a female offspring or near relation who is a spinster or divorcee of not less than 30 years of age on giving a written undertaking of good behaviour of such applicant. We place premium on it - that any female applicant who is married at the time of application and whose husband is not a member of the fraternity must produce a letter of consent from her husband (The Guardian 31 Dec. 2000a).

With regard to membership in Ogboni groups in general, a 31 December 2000b article from The Guardian reported that

In spite of the Ogboni's name that is common to them all, the practices differ along with the calibre of candidates accepted for initiation. For instance, while the ROF will not accept male members of less than 21 years of age and female members of less than 30 years of age, all other extractions may admit people of lower ages.

ROF, according to its Olori Apena Otunba David Adekunle Olaiya Adeniji, emphasises that membership shall be opened to only those who embrace faith in God and who do not fancy being fetish as a way of life. It is not clear if others believe in this principle.

The Guardian also reported the following with respect to whether offspring of a member are expected to join an Ogboni group:

In some parts of the country like the Igbomina speaking part of Kwara State, whoever is in Ogboni is seen as harbouring devilish thoughts and capable of harming others. There is the general belief that whoever is a member donates either his or her child or loved ones at appointed intervals.

It is believed that when you greet an elderly member of the sect and he places his or her hand on your head, you are already earmarked to be enlisted into the society.

Though the Ogbonis exist in most parts of the country including that of Igbomina speaking part of Kwara, go about their businesses in secrecy.

"That is the way Ogbonis behave in the past. They are not known, you don't boast about your membership and you are not even admitted into the fold until you are matured enough to be able to keep secret or get adequately punished for revealing secrets," explains the Olori Oluwo Ogboni Olufe, Chief Adeleke Oyenuga ["also the Oluwo Alakoso of Ogboni Aborigine Fraternity of Nigeria (Ikorodu Division)"] (ibid.).

For further information on the Ogboni please consult NGA36163.E of 13 March 2001, NGA36833.E of 13 March 2001, NGA35268.E of 31 August 2000, NGA34255.E of 14 April 2000, NGA33762.E of 7 February 2000, NGA33175.E of 6 November 1999, and NGA8434.E of 7 May 1991.

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

The Guardian [Lagos]. 31 December 2001a. Lekan Fadeyi. "'ROF is Not a Secret Society'." http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/ibru/br808007.html [Accessed 14 Feb. 2001]

_____. 31 December 2000b. Lekan Fadeyi. "Perceptions of Ogboni." http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/ibru/br808006.html [Accessed 14 Feb. 2001]

The Reformed Ogboni Fraternity, Lagos. 1998. "Constitution of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity Incorporated." http://www.rof-nigeria.org [Accessed 16 Feb. 2001]

Attachment

The Reformed Ogboni Fraternity, Lagos. n.d. "The Reformed Ogboni Fraternity (Incorporated): Application Form." http://www.rof-nigeria.org [Accessed 16 Feb. 2001]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

LEXIS-NEXIS

REFWORLD

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites including:

The Guardian [Lagos].

Nigeria Media Monitor

The Nigeria News Network

Post Express [Lagos].

Vanguard [Apapa].

Search engines including:

Google

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