In the quiet, marble-rich town of Igbeti, Oyo State, a determined group of local volunteers is waging a daily battle to shield schoolchildren from the triple threats of cultism, truancy, and substance abuse. Their mission is to ensure that young learners stay in the classroom and complete their education, countering a national crisis where Nigeria holds the world's highest number of out-of-school children, estimated at 20 million by UNICEF.
From Bush Meetings to School Patrols: The IVRM's Frontline Action
The Igbeti Volunteer Rescue Mission (IVRM), founded in February 2025, has become a critical community-based response. The group's members, primarily youths and micro-entrepreneurs, patrol the town during school hours. A key member, Hakeeb Adeola Abass, recounted a decisive intervention to Legit.ng. "One of the school principals alerted me about a cultists’ meeting taking place in the bushy area just beyond the school fence," Abass said. He and a colleague moved in, made arrests, and reported the incident to the Nigeria Police Force's divisional headquarters in Igbeti.
Their vigilance extends beyond cult activities. Abass also described busting a session where young girls were being lured into smoking hemp (cannabis) in the bush. "I caught them and took them to their schools' principals," he stated. This aligns with alarming data from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which revealed in March 2025 that at least one million people in Oyo State are involved in illicit drug use, with cannabis and codeine being prevalent among youths.
A Statewide Scourge Meets Local Resistance
The community's fight in Igbeti reflects a broader crisis in Oyo State. In March 2025, the then Commissioner of Police, Johnson Adenola, formally decried the infiltration of cultism into schools. He expressed shock after investigating violent unrest at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Grammar School in Ibadan, where suspected cultists from a nearby technical college invaded, vandalised property worth millions of naira, and inflicted machete cuts.
"I personally interviewed these children, and the revelation was stunning. I was surprised at the level of decadence in the public schools in the state," Adenola lamented. This environment of gang violence and substance abuse contributes significantly to dropout rates, making the IVRM's work in a rural setting like Igbeti even more vital.
Practical Measures to Curb Truancy and Boost Retention
Beyond interventions, the IVRM has implemented proactive systems to keep children in school. One key strategy was an agreement with school heads in Igbeti. The initiative mandates that students must be issued an exit card or a letter from the principal whenever they need to leave the school premises during hours.
This simple but effective measure helps drastically reduce truancy, prevents students from wandering into unsafe areas, and minimises opportunities for them to engage in criminal activities. For the IVRM marshals, vagrancy, truancy, loitering, and child labour during school hours are considered abominations that must be actively challenged.
Operating in the Olorunsogo local government area, the IVRM complements the efforts of security agencies, traditional leaders, and religious institutions. Their model demonstrates how community-led action can provide a tangible shield for young people, offering a beacon of hope in the struggle to improve school retention and completion rates, especially at the secondary level, across Nigeria.
