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Tag: cultists

  • Rivers CP: cultists have gone mad and must be wiped out

    Rivers CP: cultists have gone mad and must be wiped out

    Rivers State Commissioner of Police (CP) Foluso Adebanjo has urged criminals to relocate from the state. He said cultists have gone mad and must be wiped out.

    Adebanjo, who resumed in the command four days ago, urged his men to take intelligence gathering very seriously.

    He spoke at his maiden briefing of officers and reporters in Port Harcourt, the state capital yesterday.

    He said: “I was CP Edo State for two years. When I took over in the state, there was high rate of crime. Cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping and what have you were the order of the day there, just like what is happening now in Rivers State. But as at the time I left the state after two years of service, the story changed. The state became calm and the name of the state was removed from American list of states with high crime wave.”

    He urged police officers to be proactive in their job and ensure that they know the homes of suspected hoodlums and monitor them closely to ensure they do not strike before the police would retaliate.

    Adebanjo urged Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) to ensure they secure their territories well and recover illegal arms in the hands of civilians.

    He said the command would fish out criminals and their sponsors, irrespective of who they are and the position they occupy in the society.

     “There is no doubt there is daunting security challenges in the country, particularly in Rivers State. But, it is not insurmountable.  Rivers State is great; therefore, it must be peaceful. We must fortify the state, especially Port Harcourt.

    “DPOs must secure their areas. I don’t want to hear stories; you must work for 24 hours. You must arrest people; you must hold your area. Cultists in Rivers State have gone mad. We are declaring war on them.

    “You must sit up because we cannot allow criminals to run down the State. I believe in intelligence-led policing. These evil people are not people you play with. That is what I was directed to do by the Inspector-General of Police”.

    Adebanjo took over from Musa Kimo who worked in the state for nine months.

  • Police kill four notorious cultists

    Police kill four notorious cultists

    The police in Rivers state have yesterday killed four notorious cultists in the state.

    The hoodlums are reportedly killed in a gun battle with the police at Ogbakiri area of Emuoha LGA the state yesterday morning.

    The state Police spokesman Ahmad Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    The cultists suspected to be members of Icelanders cult group, being led by one Italian, a native of Ikwerre LGA were said to be members of the group that has been terrorising Isiokpor and Rumuji communities of Ikwerre and Emuoha LGAs of the state.

    The criminals reportedly attempted attack on the Police Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS), Annex Office at Ogbakiri junction but were repealed by the Police.

    “When our Rumuji Police station was attacked last weekend, we knew that this boys are up to something, by the directive of the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Musa Kimo, all our Police security formations were beefed up, so the Police were on red alert.

    “As God may have it this morning, around 11:am they hoodlums, the same people that attacked the Rumuji station, came to attack our SARS Annex office at Ogbakiri junction, our men fought back and they were repealed.

    “There was heavy gun battle between the Police and the criminals. There was re-enforcement of the SARS and Anti-Cultism Unit, at the end of the battle, three corpses of the cultists were recovered, the fourth one died in the hospital, but before he died, he was able to confess to the Police that they are the group responsible for the disturbances at Rumji, Aluu, in Emuoha LGA and Isiokpor in Ikwerre LGA of the state, and that their gang leader is one Italia.

    “There was no casualty on the Police side. Several wraps of items suspected to be dynamite explosive were recovered from the place they led ambush against the Police. No gun was however recovered from them.”

    The CP assured the people of the state of the Police resolve to give no rest to the hoodlums and appealed to members of the public to volunteer useful information to the Police.

    Emuoha and Ikwerre LGA of the state came under siege of the criminals last weekend. No fewer than 25 persons were killed in a two day-subsisted attacks on the areas.

  • Suspected cultists kill 15 persons in five Rivers communities

    Rampaging armed youths believed to be cultists have invaded five communities in Rivers State, killing 15 persons. They also burnt houses and looted properties valued at millions of naira.

    The communities are Ovogo, Rumuewhuo and Rumuji in Emuoha Local Government Area.

    A source yesterday said seven persons were killed in Ovogo. Two each were killed in Rumuehwuo and Rumuji.

    The gunmen invaded the Emuoha communities around 8 am yesterday. They started shooting, causing heavy panic. Residents scampered to safety. The community is presently deserted.

    Last Thursday and Friday, some hoodlums were said to have attacked Odhieje community of Ahoada East and burnt eight homes and looted properties, but no casualty was recorded.

    They also shot sporadically in Okogbie community, also in Ahoada East, between 9 pm on Friday and 5 am on Saturday. Three of the assailants were said to have been arrested by men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF).

    The killings in Emuoha came within 24 hours after over 20 persons, including an expectant woman and two soldiers were reportedly killed in three communities of Umuokiri Aluu, University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) community, Omagwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area.

    Police spokesman Ahmad Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), denied any knowledge of the killings and the arson in Ahoada East. He said in a text message: “I don’t think; if there was something like this, I’m not aware.”

  • ‘Cultists’ kill NYSC member in Bayelsa

    A Suspected cultists at the weekend killed a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, James Onuh, at Obele, a suburb of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    The incident caused panic among the residents.

    The late Onuh, a graduate of the Federal University of Agriculture in Markurdi, the Benue State capital, was said to be attached to the Bayelsa State Ministry of Works for his primary assignment.

    Official sources at the NYSC gave his name as James Onuh.

    Confirming the development, police spokesman Asimin Butswat, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the late Onuh was shot and was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

    Butswat said: “We are trailing the suspects and investigations are ongoing.”

  • One stabbed as suspected cultists destroy 10 cars, houses

    One stabbed as suspected cultists destroy 10 cars, houses

    ABOUT 10 cars were vandalised by suspected cultists on Tuesday night on Olafimihan, Moriamo Ajoke and Okunade Streets in Ilasamaja, Mushin, Lagos.

    It was learnt that a girl’s refusal of the love overture of a suspected cultist sparked the crisis around 10.25pm.

    A resident, who declined to give her name, said: “We were all outside taking fresh air when some boys stopped a young girl and started ‘toasting’ her and the girl snubbed them. One of the boys then came from behind and slapped the girl.”

    The girl’s mother, who was watching the scene, rushed out to grab the boys and the suspected cultist hit her on the face.

    A trader simply called Dino, who walked up to them to make peace was reportedly stabbed on the head.

    “I didn’t have any intention to fight the boys, I was born and raised here. All I wanted to do is to make peace. I didn’t know they were with bottle; they smashed it on my head and ran away,” Dino said.

    The Nation gathered the suspected cultists returned around midnight, throwing bottles at houses and damaging the windscreens of vehicles parked on the streets.

    Broken bottles and burnt tyres littered the streets when The Nation visited yesterday.

    A guard said: “It was a sleepless night for me and my colleagues, some cultists, numbering about 14, armed with cutlasses and bottles invaded the street, throwing bottles at houses and smashing the windscreens of cars parked.”

    He said the gang left when he mobilised some of his colleagues.

    “Parading the streets to check the damage done, I noticed that they went to jump fence from Alfa Nda Street to Olafimihan with the aim to attack people”, he added.

    The guard said the guys took to their heels when police came and shot into the air.

    A resident, whose car was vandalised, said she did not know her car was wrecked until a neighbour alerted her.

    “Mama Kayode came to wake me up this (Wednesday) morning that my vehicle had been vandalised. I was thinking maybe a car bashed my vehicle, until they told me it was some cult guys.”

    Another resident, who also had his car’s windscreens smashed, said while he was parking on Tuesday night, he noticed a “noisy argument”.

    “I got home late on Tuesday due to terrible traffic; as I was parking my vehicle, I heard a gunshot and noise. I thought it’s just a play, I woke up this morning and my car was terribly damaged.”

    A woman, simply identified as Mama Shotayo whose three children were arrested, appealed to the police to release them.

    “Please, tell police to leave my three children; they were not involved in the fight. They went to settle the fight,” she said.

    Residents called on the police to secure the area.

    The case has been reported at Olosan Police Station in Mushin.

  • Soldiers arrest five suspected cultists in Aba

    Soldiers from 144 Battalion (under 14 Brigade Command), located in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State has arrested five persons suspected to be cultists operating  in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State.

    The suspects identified as members of Arrow cult group who operated mainly around Ihieorji in Aba South Local government Area of the state, The Nation gathered were arrested by soldiers at Ngwa road Forward Operation Base (FOB).

    The names of the suspects were Michael Kalu, 21-year-old, Emmanuel Okede (aka Hausa), 20, Sunday Chinedu (alias Isioto), 19, Nyechi Johnson Jnr, 21, are indigenes of Bende, Aba South of the State and Godwin Patrick, 24 from Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State respectively.

    Items allegedly recovered from them include three locally made Pistols, five cases of live cartridges, two (female) purse containing twenty one thousand, nine hundred and thirty five naira only, two Tecno mobile phones, I Microsoft Phone, two Nokia phones and about five sachets of substances suspected to be Indian Hemp.

    Sources within the Battalion told our correspondent that the five suspects were arrested around Akwueze by Ihieorji off Ohanku in Aba South Local Government through a tip off.

    The sources who lamented the growing trend of cultism in Aba among youths especially in areas populated by students of higher institutions said that they; army and other security agencies will leave no stone unturned in tackling the menace.

    They urged parents to monitor the company their children and wards keep or mingle with, stressing that no amount of pressure from parents of any cultist would deter them (security agencies) from making sure that anyone caught as a member of any cult group would be dealt with according to the provisions of the constitution, even as they warned members of various cult groups or those intending to join them to have a rethink over their action as they would regret the consequence(s) of their actions.

     

  • Imo women counter cultists, kidnappers

    Imo women counter cultists, kidnappers

    Imo State women have joined the battle against cultists and kidnappers who have besieged several communities in the state.

    The outlaws, along with armed robbers and other hoodlums, have caused unspeakable atrocities and made life miserable for residents of Ohaji-Egbema and Oguta council areas despite the spirited efforts of security agencies.

    Awara, Ohuba, Oguta, Ilile and several other communities were turned into killing fields by rival cult groups fighting for supremacy in the oil-rich communities. Some of the villages have consequently been deserted, others completely razed down.

    That was why Women of Divine Destiny Initiative (WODDI), a pet project of the Imo State governor’s wife, joined the security efforts, but only from the spiritual flank.

    The initiative is seeking divine intervention in the riverside communities.

    To many, the initiative by WODDI will certainly bring a turnaround in the communities and help to restore the confidence of the indigenes and residents who had to flee the crisis-torn communities in the wake of the violence.

    In his short sermon, during the prayer meeting with the theme, “Heal our Land O! God”, which attracted Christian women from within and outside the state, a Lagos-based preacher Timothy Ofoegbu decried the upsurge in cultism and fetish practices by politicians desperately seeking power.

    He warned that such power-hungry politicians, who incite idle youths to perpetrate heinous crimes against innocent people, will face the wrath of God.

    The cleric also condemned the indiscriminate conferment of chieftaincy titles on individuals with questionable means of wealth by traditional rulers, noting that this trend also contributes to the inordinate ambition to acquire wealth through criminal means.

    He advised the people above other things, to embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour for speedy resolution of their problems and healing of their land.

    Also in his sermon, Bishop David Shekwolo of the Kingdom Church of God Inc. Minna, regretted that immorality has become the order of the day in the society and called for total repentance as the only antidote to the rising criminal activities.

    He said, “When the Israelites were in bondage, they cried to God and God sent Moses to deliver them. God is ready to set us free by His mercy but the prayer of a sinner is an abomination before God”.

    Bishop Shekwolo advised Christians to shun idol worship, stressing that neither demon nor man-made gods have the capacity to provide solutions for their problems.

    The initiator of the programme, Nneoma Rochas Okorocha, said that the prayer meeting was meant to strengthen the state government’s reliance on divine protection, guidance and direction at the grassroots.

  • Kwara proposes 14 years for cultists

    Kwara State government has proposed between 10 and 14 years imprisonment for anyone found guilty of cult-related offences.

    It said this would reduce cultism. The executive is seeking the consent of the House of Assembly to review the anti-cultism law.

    Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Kamaldeen Ajibade, who briefed reporters on the outcome of the executive council’s meeting, dispelled insinuations that the government whittled down the law against cultism.

    He said: “If the Bill is passed, it will check hoodlums’ excesses.”

    On the Share/Tsaragi crisis, Ajibade said the executive council agreed to harmonise the 2010 and 2016 White Paper recommendations, adding that it took cognisance of court cases in relation to the Share/Tsaragi conflicts and would be guided appropriately.

    He assured stakeholders that the executive council would review the White Paper at a later date, to ensure peace in the communities.

  • Cultists shatter Kwara peace

    Cultists shatter Kwara peace

    Cult groups, once restricted to campuses and other states, are now clashing on the streets of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, with chilling results, reports KUNLE JIMOH

    Cult-related clashes have claimed no fewer than 10 lives in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital since January. This is a chilling development in a state with a reputation for peace. At the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, Kwara residents enjoyed enviable peace. Cultists also kept their distance.

    Now, the picture is changing. Cult clashes have spread to the streets of Ilorin. Mid January, suspected cultists hacked to death a car wash operator, Bayo Ajia, though he was the alleged to be a notorious cultist.

    The police and state government said they were doing everything to crush crime and sustain peace in the peace.

    Penultimate weekend, a cult  clash reportedly claimed four lives in the state capital, though the police command said three persons died.

    Late last month, suspected cultists struck at Ikoko-Sakamo area of Ilorin, killing a man simply identified as Wasiu. Wasiu, in his 30s, it was gathered, who had reportedly fled the area to avoid being attacked, returned only to face those he dreaded, it was learnt. Like Ajia, he was also said to belong to a cult group. The gunmen reportedly numbering four were said to have arrived in the area in commando style, shooting the victim in the face, an eyewitness said.

    There was anxiety at the scene of the incident as residents and passersby scampered for safety.

    “It was like a theatre scene when the gunmen arrived,” the eyewitness said. “They started shooting and everybody around had to run away.  We didn’t know what happened, we only discovered that the style of operation of the gunmen appeared like they are cultists.

    “Before now, we had been observing Wasiu because his action too was suspicious. He might be a cult member; that is why he was away for some time now before yesterday’s incident.”

    The latest cult clash occurred at Babako, Ita-Amodu and Agbo-Oba areas of Ilorin metropolis between penultimate Saturday night and 4 o’clock on Sunday morning.

    Another person was said to have been hacked to death by suspected cultists in the Olunlade area, along Ilorin-Ajase-Ipo Road.

    The development, it was gathered, created tension in the affected areas while residents scampered for safety.

    Eyewitness account had it that one of the victims of the incident was a- 20-year-old boy allegedly  shot by the cultists.

    It was also gathered that members of the “Aiye” fraternity first struck at Baboko area of Ilorin around 9.30 pm on Saturday night allegedly killing two persons.

    In a reprisal attack, it was gathered that after that operation at Baboko the suspected cultists headed for  Ita-Amodu and Agbo-Oba in Ilorin on a revenge mission. This group also allegedly killed two persons in that reprisal attack.

    The state government and police command said they were would stem the tide of this unsavoury development. The state Commissioner of Police Sam Okaula recently paraded 13 suspected cultists. Items recovered from them included one cut-to-size gun, one locally made pistol and five cartridges.

    Mr. Okaula added that the state police had earlier declared two of the arrested suspects wanted.

    He said, “There were rival cult clashes here and there between Saturday and Sunday and some people lost their lives. But like I told you last time we will always be on top of the situation; we have effected the arrest of 13 of these notorious cultists. We shall go all out to arrest more of these suspects so that we can have peace in the state.”

    “We have directed District Police Officers (DPOs) and Area Commanders to be on top of the situation. We are going to carry out effective checks on motorcycles, as most of them are being used to commit crimes.

    “I use this medium to appeal to members of the public to continue to give us information especially with regard to these cultists…Enough is enough for these boys.”

    Also talking tough, the state governor Abdulfatah Ahmed warned cultists and law breakers that tough time awaited them, adding that there would be no hiding place for them

    Ahmed  said everything necessary would be done to ensure that peace in the state is not truncated by hoodlums. He also urged parents and guardians to take proper care of their wards.

    He said, “The law is very clear on crime. Anybody who is caught under any guise will face the wrath of the law as cultism is unacceptable in Kwara State.”

  • Ahmed: tough time awaits cultists

    Ahmed: tough time awaits cultists

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has warned cultists and law-breakers that tough time awaits them.

    He said there will be no hiding place for them.

    The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba, said everything would be done to ensure that the enduring peace in the state was not truncated by hoodlums.

    He urged parents and guardians to take care of their children and wards, as the government will ensure that those found guilty of disrupting peace and harmony, which the state is known for, will be prosecuted.

    Ahmed said: “The law is clear on crime. Anybody who is caught under any guise will face the wrath of the law, as cultism is unacceptable in Kwara State.”