SUMMARY
Deebam (alternatively Deegbam, Deybam, Deygbam, Dey Gbam, pidgin for “Be strong”) was an armed group that emerged in Nigeria’s River state in 1991. Often described as a cult, or street gang, Deebam had its roots in the phenomenon of confraternities at Nigerian universities. The first confraternity, the Pyrates, was formed in 1952 and soon others appeared. Initially respectable social groups with objectives such as promoting social awareness and fighting social injustices, the confraternities eventually turned into belligerent gangs that fiercely struggled for supremacy; a transformation that many argue reflected a wider breakdown of traditional values in society. In the 1990s many of the confraternities began setting up business offshoots or ‘street cults’, especially in and around the major cities. Deebam was one such offshoot. The group was formed by the Klansmen Konfraternity (KK), which originated from the University of Calabar in Cross River state, and was intended to be used to fight for supremacy and territory through organized violence, banditry and criminality.
While formed by KK, Deebam evolved to become largely autonomous from its parent confraternity. The group’s first leader was Onengiye Ofori Terika (also known as Occasion Boy), who in Deebam terminology was known as “Teetan the Great,” or “Teetan the Giant,” simply meaning the group’s chief. Terika hailed from Buguma village in Degema Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers state, and the early history of the group was tightly tied to the local community’s struggle for compensation from Shell and other oil companies in the area. In October 2003, Terika was killed in a shoot-out with the Deewell and NDV cult groups. He was replaced by Kingsley Akogu, popularly called “King”, with roots in Omoku community in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of the same state. Akogu’s reign was short-lived, as he was shot by dead by security operatives shortly after taking over leadership of the group. Ichechi Owaka, popularly called “Angel,” subsequently took over and headed Deebam until June 2004, when he was killed when the military invaded a joint Deebam–NDPVF (see below) training camp in Ogbakiri. He was succeeded by Prince Glad, who later adopted the name Prince Igodo. Like his predecessors, he too met a violent ending; Igodo was killed in June 2007, by a joint force of fighters from fellow-cult groups Outlaws and Niger Delta Strike Force (NDSF), a break-away faction from NDPVF. Following Igodo’s death, Deebam saw a period without a clear leader. At the time, sourced from within the group stated that a new leader would be appointed in early 2008, but it is difficult to determine whether this happened or not. Little is known on the group’s leadership during the ten years following Igodo’s death. However, by 2017, a “Mr. Supreme” was known to head Deebam. He was subsequently killed in a shootout with Nigerian troops, and it is unclear who succeed him. Throughout all these leadership changes, Deebam retained a strong leadership structure. This was sustained by extremely tough initiation ceremonies and high membership dues and contributions.
Deebam emerged in Rivers state, which, together with Bayelsa and Delta states is the location of Nigeria’s large oil findings. However, the population, while suffering from the environmental degradation that has come in its wake, has received very little of the benefits from the oil. Instead, the area suffers from high unemployment rates and rife poverty and this created a pool of young men – often school dropouts, and criminal elements of rural communities and urban slums – willing to join cults and gangs. It was among these that Deebam was able to recruit its members. Thus, the primary common denominator for the Deebam members seems to not have been ethnic (even though it appears as if most are Ijaw), but a poor background and very bleak prospects for the future. Due to the secretive nature of the group, its size is difficult to determine. While a 2007 estimate by an analyst said 700 active members, Deebam itself claimed to have some 3000 members in Tombia, Degema LGA; 2500 in Bukuma, Degema LGA; and 6000 in Port Harcourt at the same point in time. There are no verified current figures for the group’s strength.
As noted above, Deebam first emerged in southern Nigeria’s Rivers state, and while the group had several affiliated cult cells scattered across the larger Delta region, this is where its main area of operation remained. It initially had its headquarters in Tombia, in Degema LGA, but under Owaka’s leadership it was moved to Ogbakiri in Emauoha LGA. Both locations are near Rivers state’s main town, Port Harcourt.
In the highly volatile Niger delta, two main groupings, or alliance blocs, emerged in the mid-2000s, centered on the two militant groups NDV and NDPVF (for information on the conflict between the two, see NDV-NDPVF. Deebam joined the NDPVF team, and by doing so increased its access to sophisticated weapons and speedboats. It also, by default, became allied to the other cult groups supporting NDPVF, such as Greenlanders and Bush Boys. These groups at times fought together. In late 2005, Deebam broke away from this tactical alliance after a disagreement over money with NDPVF. Illustrating the fluid nature of alliances in the region, Deebam in late June 2007 bound together with its previous adversary NDV, to fight against the Outlaws, whose leader Soboma George had emerged to be Rivers state’s single most powerful and politically connected cult leader. It is unclear what the current state of alliances looks like among the cult groups of Rivers state.
