Black Axe (confraternity)

The Black Axe, also known as the Neo Black Movement of Africa or the NBM of Africa, is an international confraternity founded at the University of Benin in Nigeria as part of the Pan African movement. Its aims include the promotion and advancement of African culture and arts globally by striving to revive, retain, and modify where necessary those aspects of African culture that would aid humanity irrespective of race. The BBC has called the group a "mafia-style gang'.

NBM of Africa was registered on February 24, 1994, with the Corporate Affairs Commission under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) with registration No 7729.

Origin
In the 1970s, nine students from the University of Benin, led by Nicholas Idemudia started the Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM), a male brotherhood focused on "intellectual radicalism in pursuit of Pan-African struggles." The founders of the NBM were Marvel Akpoyibo, Uche Alumona, Tokunbo Brown, Gbolahom Dosunmu, Godwin Ehigiator, Nicholas Idemudia, Bernard Ojishua, Olagungu Ojo, and John Okogie, with the support of M. Angulu Onwuejiogwu, a professor of history and anthropology at the university. Adopting a logo of a black axe "smashing the shackles of colonialism," the NBM confraternity was a response to the Pyrates reported excesses." This logo gave the group its common name, the Black Axe.

NBM became a prominent group at many universities in Nigeria during the 1980s. Its leaders then decided to connect with the Neo black movement of Africa, calling itself a brotherhood focusing on black realism and determinism. The iteration of the Black Axe confraternity blended the historic religion of Nigeria with anti-colonial activism. The group adopted violence to make its members "strong men". It claimed to fight against oppression, saying that its members would only kill for justice and would not kill the innocent. As the Black Axe expanded and its violence increased, the 1994 graduating members decided to separate the confraternity from the University of Benin.

The Neo-Black Movement of Africa was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) on February 24, 1994, with registration No 7729. As of 2024, it has around one million members. Its headquarters are in Amagba, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. NBM has publicly disassociated itself from the Black Axe confraternity". However, various publications refer to NBM and Black Axe as synonymous, including the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.



Symbols and traditions
The Black Axe's motto is "Social Justice and Equality/Equity for all." Its slogan is "Aye Axemen". Black Axe's symbol is a black axe above two hands in chains or the shackles of colonialism. This represents the NBM's readiness to confront difficult tasks and to break social injustice, along with other vices that limit humanity's progress.

The colors of Black Axe are white, black, and yellow. Members wear white shirts, black pants, a yellow tie, and headgear consisting of a yellow ribbon. White represents harmony and purity of the body and mind, black represents sympathy with the Black race, and yellow represents the intelligence of its members. NBM's members are called Axemen.

The confraternity has a ceremony called a "gyration" where they worship Korofo, who they also call "the unseen God" or "the devil to guide all men".

Rituals
Before recruitment and initiation, the potential members must sign an "oath of secrecy," pledging that they would never reveal any information to non-members or violate the group's rules. Then the initiation ceremony, which is sometimes called "Blending," takes place and all of the new members are gathered. The gathering of them is nicknamed as "Jollification."

There are several initiation processes that these men must go through before they are granted admission. It is claimed that "the Axemen are stripped naked and forced to lie in mud while enduring severe physical abuse, crawl through their tormentors' legs in a process known as ‚devil's passage,‘ and drink blood." This is used to degrade them and connect them. It has also been said that some of the ceremonies include bonfires, drugs, and the sexual assault of women.

Leaders use death threats and other types of violence against members that have any ideas of leaving the confraternity and the secrecy runs on fear. Some members, usually first-year students, are forcefully initiated. The Black Axe does this by "portraying the university environment as hostile and students as in need of protection." After they are initiated, they are given a black robe with their logo and told that they "have just acquired (their) coffin."

Activities
NBM's activities encourage African art, culture, and traditions, along with global peace. It holds a national convention annually in March. Members participate in "jollification", an event featuring Egede drums, music, and dancing. At the end of each year, the group hosts Black/African Nights that are open to non-members of all genders.

Members participate in at least one charitable activity each year. Its priorities include climate change, education, food sovereignty, health, indigenous people, and water.

Governance
There is little information on the structure and hierarchy of the group, despite extensive media coverage. The group membership is estimated to comprise over one thousand "educated males." The group has a hierarchal structure that keeps everything running, comprising:


 * National Head – Runs the confraternity on a day-to-day basis, coordinating all of the departments below them. They are seen as the face of the Black Axe and serve as an example to all the Axe-Men.
 * Chief Priest – Responsible for all of the activities within the Black Axe, as well as keeping research about the African traditional religion up to date. They also act as an assistant to the National Head.
 * Chairman – Not much is known, but they are also one of the higher-ups within the hierarchy of the Black Axe
 * Eyes – Responsible for keeping an eye out for police at different events and initiation. They also help connect with similar groups of similar ideals.
 * Criers – Responsible for managing the website, publishing information about events, and overall organization of information.
 * Butchers – Responsible for enforcing the rules of the Black Axe and keeping members in line.

The last three groups each have a chief. There are also councils, including the National Executive Council and the National Council of Elders, but not much is known about them.

Controversies
The BBC has called the Black Axe a "mafia-style gang'.

Politics
The Black Axe seems to have engaged in political misconduct. For example, Augustus Bemigho, a 2019 APC party candidate for political office, was connected to the Black Axe. Emails show that he "sent guidance on scamming to a network of collaborators on 62 occasions and communicated with others about specific scamming targets." Some of the documents in his emails show that in Benin City, 35 million naira ($85,000; £64,000) was directed to the Black Axe to secure votes in 2012.

Cyber Crime
In October 2021, eight members of the Black Axe were arrested and charged in connection with Internet scams. In 2011 and 2012, members of the group in South Africa were accused of running romance scams and advance-fee schemes to defraud investors. They used the widely known Nigerian email scams, as well as social media, dating websites, and phone numbers to target US citizens.

In 2021 and 2022, Interpol arrested 75 suspected members of the Black Axe for trying to wire one million dollars over many bank accounts. This operation spanned four countries in four continents. Along with cars and luxury items, Interpol agents seized 12,000 SIM cards that helped identify many suspects.

In 2023, a member of the Black Axe was caught trying to steal one million dollars through money laundering. Starting in 2017, a man, who was supposedly working with the Black Axe, opened many bank accounts to conceal money that was secured from fraudulent schemes such as business email compromises. One of the names he operated under was the Abravoo Trading Company.

Confraternity violence
There are many instances of violence between the Black Axe and other confraternities. In May 2009, there was a fight between the Black Axe and the De Norsemen Kclub of Nigeria. This led to injuries and deaths amongst students at the University of Abuja. In March 2010, another fight broke out against the Maphite confraternity, resulting in the deaths of nine people. At least 53 people were injured or killed between March 2009 and June 2013 in fights between the Black Axe and their rivals, the Eiye confraternity.

Much of Black Axe's violent crime, including murders and rapes, are not reported, as there is little policing within Benin City. On 10 July 1999, forty members of the Black Axe drove to Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife. Holding shotguns and hatchets, they called out to specific students, saying things like "Faro, come out if you are a man! Legacy, come out if na your father born you!" The Black Axe member enter the student's residence killing and injuring sixteen people.

In 2016, almost two dozen Black Axe members were arrested in Italy for "mafia conspiracy, drug trafficking, exploitation of prostitution and violent crimes." A year later, more Black Axe members were suspected in other sex trafficking activities in Italy.

In January 2022, four Black Axe members were arrested after forcing a woman into human trafficking. She was forced into prostitution after a ritual that bonded her to her traffickers' debts. It was reported that she had been "imprisoned, raped, blackmailed, and forced into prostitution to pay a debt of about €15,000."