Joy Anyim
Eight members of rival cult groups, unleashing mayhem in Ifo area of Ogun state, have been arrested for the murder of a youth, simply identified as Ofada.
The cult groups, Eiye and Aiye, reportedly engaged in a bloody supremacy battle last Sunday, which resulted in the death of the suspected cultist, leaving several others injured.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the arrests of the suspects in a statement on Monday, said a distress call to Ifo Police Division, led to the arrests.
Oyeyemi said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Adekunle Adeniyi, led the team of policemen who trailed the suspects to their hideouts.
In a detailed account of the arrests, the PPRO said: “ The DPO and his men subsequently moved and traced the rampaging cultist to Iyana Coker area where three amongst them, Soji Olamilekan, 29, Shobande Olalekan, 26, and Solomon Fadebi, 33 were arrested.
Related Posts
“ On interrogation, they informed the police that their other members ran to Osuke area of Onipanu Ota where they were planning to launch another round of attack. Based on the information, the DPO Onipanu Division was contacted and he quickly moved to Osuke area where he met a group of cultists holding a meeting in a bush.
“ On sighting the policemen, the hoodlums took to their heels but they were hotly chased and with the assistance of the youths in the area, four amongst the cultists, Balogun Oluwaseun, 22, Joseph Onwe, 24, Peter Raphael, 22, and Yusuf Emmanuel, 26, were apprehended.
“ While the investigation was going on, information got to the police that one of the cultists was seen receiving treatment for a gun-shot injury in Arobiye village Ota, the DPO Onipanu swiftly moved in there and arrested the suspect, Toheeb Olorunkemi, 22, who confessed participating in Ifo crisis where he received gun-shot injury.”
Recovered from the arrested suspects were one locally made pistol, six live cartridges, four different types of the handset, one black beret and a small bag.
Oyeyemi said the corpse of the slain cultist has been recovered and deposited at the morgue, while the injured have been taken to the hospital for medical care.
He said the Commissioner of Police (CP), Edward Ajogun has ordered the transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for discreet investigation.
“ He also directed a serious manhunt for the remaining members of the groups in order to put their notorious activities to a permanent end, ” he added.
