Real Stories: The day I found out my best friend was a cultist 

I still remember the day I met Niyi. We were both 12 years old, sitting in the same Sunday school class at our local church in Enugu. 

He was the quiet, smart one who always carried his Bible like it was glued to his hand. I was the troublemaker who cracked jokes during sermons. Somehow, we became best friends.

For 15 years, I thought I knew everything about Niyi.

I was wrong.

YOU MIGHT LIKE: On Colos: The side effects of smoking colorado

Niyi was the kind of guy parents pointed at and said, "Why can’t you be like him?" He finished top of our class, got a scholarship to study Medicine at UNIBEN, and even became a youth leader in church. Meanwhile, I was struggling to pass my courses.

Whenever I complained about life, Niyi would pat my shoulder and say, "Don’t worry, bro. God’s time is the best."

I believed him.

Last year, something changed.

RECENT: Met Gala 2025: Nigerian stars who stole the show on the blue carpet

Niyi started acting… different. He would disappear for days, then return with expensive things like new iPhones and designer shoes. Things a medical student shouldn’t be able to afford.

"Where are you getting all this?" I asked one day. He smiled. "God is blessing me, my brother."

I wanted to believe him. I really wanted to. But something was just... off.

One Friday night, Niyi called me at 2 AM.

"Bro, I need your help. Come to No. 14 Cemetery Road. Now."

His voice was urgent, shaky. I thought maybe he was in an accident. I grabbed my wallet and rushed out.

When I got there, the street was empty, except for one black car with tinted windows. The door opened.

"Enter inside," a deep voice said.

Inside the car, Niyi sat between two men in black hoodies. His hands were trembling.

"Niyi, wetin happen?!" I shouted.

One of the hooded men pulled out a gun.

"Your friend has a problem," the man said. "He joined us, took our oath, now he wants to run."

My heart stopped.

"What oath? Niyi, what’s going on?!"

Niyi finally looked at me, tears in his eyes. "I’m… I’m a member of the Black Axe Confraternity."

I was stunned!

The man with the gun leaned closer. "Tell your friend what happens to traitors."

Niyi's voice broke. "They kill them."

I don’t know how we got out alive that night. Maybe it was the ₦500,000 bribe I gave them from my savings, maybe it was God.

My childhood friend eventually told me everything, how senior cult members recruited him in his second year at UNIBEN. How they promised him "protection and power." How he took a blood oath in the dead of night.

"I thought I could leave after school," he whispered. "But they own me now."

Two weeks later, Niyi disappeared.

The last text he sent me read: "They found out I talked to you. I have to run. Don’t try to contact me."

That was 8 months ago. I haven’t heard from him since.

PREVIOUS: Real Stories: I paid a native doctor ₦2 million for visa luck, what happened next shocked me