The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cultists

  • Police parade 34 suspected cultists, others

    The police in Anambra State have paraded 34 persons allegedly involved in cult activities, kidnapping and car snatching.

    Most of the suspects were underaged students of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and Federal Polytechnic, Oko.

    Others were arrested at Obosi in Idemili North for offences connected with hemp trafficking.

    Items recovered included charms, ancient pistols, ammunition and Indian hemp.

    Parading the suspects yesterday, Police Commissioner Hosea Karma said some of the cultists were under aged students of two higher institutions while others were members of high syndicate gangs.

    Karma said the police would collaborate with other security organisations to flush out criminals.

    He said the command would track gang members who were on the run, even as he appreciated Governor Willie Obiano for his assistance to security agencies.

    Meanwhile, 48 suspected cultists, brought to the police station by the Obosi Town Union President, Dan Igbokwubile, have denounced cultism.

    They pledged to assist the community and police to fight crime.

  • ‘How cultists dealt with me’

    A trader Adewale Olaonipekun yesterday narrated his ordeal in the hands of some alleged member of the Eiye Confraternity Cult who stormed his shop around Odogunyan area of Ikorodu, Lagos, with dangerous weapons.

    “They barged into my shop and woke me up from sleep that afternoon. They ordered me to give them money, saying that I must pay the cult; otherwise they would kill me now or return with more of their boys and kill me. Then, they stole the only money they could find, N1, 250, and ran away.” Olaonipekun told The Nation.

    One of the alleged culprits, Paul Vincent, 24 was yesterday arraigned by the police at an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court on a three-count charge of threat to life, assault with dangerous weapons and stealing.

    The police from the Shagamu Police Division alleged that Vincent and his accomplice, who is at large, on August 1, attacked Olaonipekun with dangerous weapons.

    “They threatened to kill him with, and stole N1,250 from him. The offences are punishable under Sections 56, 41 and 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State,” the police said.

    When the accused, who had a swollen mouth and bruises all over his face, was led into the dock, dressed in a tattered red jersey tied across his shoulder and a dirty blue jeans, Magistrate Adejumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu warned the Investigative Police Officer (IPO), Corporal Ojesanya Akeem, on the need to ensure that defendants are brought to court in neat dresses and without being beaten up.

    Mr Sakiru Omolaja and Taiwo Bakare, announced their appearance for the defendant on a pro bono basis and urged the court to grant him bail on lenient terms. The prosecutor, Police Corporal Mary Ajiteru, did not object, but urged that the bail terms be made stringent.

    Olagbegi-Adelabu granted the accused N50,000 bail with two sureties who must be authority figures to the defendant and must also be gainfully employed. The matter was adjourned to August 20.

     

  • SSS, STF comb Unijos for cultists

    SSS, STF comb Unijos for cultists

    •25 students arrested

    The Plateau State Department of State Services (DSS) and the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis code- named ‘Operation Safe Haven’, yesterday raided the hostels of the University of Jos in search of cultists.

    The combined team of security agencies also combed the hostels of the Federal College of Forestry, Jos.

    STF spokesman Capt. Ikedichi Iweha said: “In the raid carried out early this morning, we arrested 25 suspected cultists. We have screened them. Those found innocent have been released. But we have detained those found guilty.

    “The screening is ongoing and the combing of hostels will be a continuous exercise until we rid schools of cultists.

    “The raiding is at the instance of school managements. The institutions must have noticed the rising cases of cultism. Our action is yielding results.

    “Everybody is aware of the increasing cases of cultism, especially in higher institutions. There is need to curb the activities of cultists before it is too late.”

     

  • Amosun warns cultists

    Amosun warns cultists

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has warned cultists that his administration will fight them.

    Amosun gave the warning at an environmental sensitisation tour of Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu.

    The governor said Ogun would no longer be a comfort zone for criminals, assuring that he would personally lead the operation to rid the state of cultists and criminals.

    According to him any cult member arrested would be prosecuted.

    Amosun said:”I’ve been informed about the upsurge in cultism.I will not allow that.I will personally lead the war from school to school and one area to another to arrest them.We are ready for them.

    “This will not be a comfort zone for cultists, kidnappers and robbers.This is a warning.Whoever you are,once you are caught ,you are going to face the law.The provision of law and order is my number one priority as the governor.”

  • ‘Rivers State is back in the grip of cultists’

    ‘Rivers State is back in the grip of cultists’

    Hon. Lucky Worluh was the Chairman of Emouha Local Government Council, one of the elected councils in Rivers State whose executives were recently sacked by Governor Nyesom Wike under questionable circumstances. In this interview with PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA, Worluh speaks on the legal tussle, the motive behind the dissolution and the next plan of action.  

    On dissolution of the board and its replacement with caretakers

    The matter was before Justice Akanbi’s court. We, as ALGON, had protested over the matter before the Court of Appeal, saying that Akanbi, who is of Federal High Court, is not supposed to be sitting on this matter. Two, even when we discovered that, he insisted that he would go ahead with the matter. We did oral application, but he refused. We did a written one, but because Akanbi and the PDP had decided what they wanted, they went ahead and told us that he did not see some of the papers we filed.

    Having petitioned Akanbi to the CJN, we were expecting that the matter would have been transferred to another judge. This is a judge that his son works with Governor Nyesom Wike as a Personal Assistant. It is obvious and clear that something is wrong with the judgment of Akanbi. Look, if this kind of Jankara judgment could take place in this democracy, then Nigeria is in coma and we need very active oxygen to deliver this country.

    On the order by the National Industrial Court, which ruled against the dissolution.

    The Industrial Court told the Rivers State government and all other agencies not to dissolve the local government council. When we went to Bayelsa, PDP lawyers were there to argue that they should vacate the order through the advice of State Attorney General, but the judge told them that the order cannot be vacated. The Industrial Court also told them that if they want to argue the decision of the court, they should come on October. I was surprised that we are yet to get to October and the state Attorney General went ahead to give wrong advice to his principal on how to remove elected chairmen. I am very happy. When the time comes everybody will account for their role in this matter. I know that the Federal Government would not fold its hands on the matter.

    For me, whatever is happening is PDP politics. When the police barricaded the council to maintain peace and order, PDP Spokesman Olisa Metuh and Wike went on air shouting, calling on the Federal Government to respect the court order. But, remember that the same police, through Joseph Mbu, the former Rivers State Commissioner, barricaded the local government council in Rivers State, but nothing happened.

    On the involvement of Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who is looking into the two judgments

    Osinbajo is a professor, we are aware of his legal reforms in Nigeria; he is also a Christian and not like the Christians who cannot practice what they preach. As ALGON, we have confidence in him and that was why we decided to play cool. Nobody has the right to push us out of the council because in my LGA, we are predominantly APC. But, we decided to leave the council because we don’t want to resort to self-help.

    To start with, even if the Akanbi judgment was against us, is there any order from Akanbi to remove the local government council? The answer is no. He would have also waited for stay of execution which we filed, but Wike went ahead and inaugurated Caretaker Committee the same day the judgment was given. They were screened by the State House of Assembly the same day. In my Emohua LGA, the caretaker chairman came to the council to inaugurate his executive on Saturday. For me, it is an act of illegality.

    Every fund that these illegal caretaker committees will touch they will account for it. It is like kangaroo judgment they knew what was going to be the outcome of the judgment. What kind of government is this? Are we in banana republic? If we don’t get a good judgment from the Federal Government, we would go to International Court for Justice, because what is happening in Rivers State is evil.

    On the timing of the board dissolution after Federal Allocation

    The major reason for the dissolution of the elected councils was because of the funds. Wike only wants to have access to the councils’ funds.  The man who is the governor of Rivers State we all know his history in this state and in his village. We also know the antecedents of those around him. I will continue to say it; the reason for the dissolution of the council executives was because of fund. They want to siphon the fund and to ensure that some elected council chairmen who have planned the way forward to develop their area do not succeed. But, one thing is certain, criminal cases never get rotten and any money misappropriated would be accounted for at the right time. The money belongs to the tax payers. Mr. President has done well by releasing the fund. Before now, the former President only released money to PDP states.

    I would have executed some capital projects, if this money was given to me. I had already mapped out areas of special interest that could benefit my people. The caretakers set-up by Wike have been hungry for so long; (they are) looking for what to grasp and whatever they grasp cannot be accounted for. Let me tell you one thing, few days before dissolution of the local government council, fund has already been paid to the state.

  • ‘Cultists not welcome’

    ‘Cultists not welcome’

    Keeping vice out of the institution was a key point in the speech of the Rector, Oko Polytechnic, Anambra State as it held its 31st matriculation. NWANOSIKE ONU reports

    The warning was firm. Cultism is not welcome at the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State, said the Rector Prof Godwin Onu at the institution’s 31st matriculation ceremony. Anyone interested in the vice should find somewhere else to indulge themselves.

    The road from Oko to Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area was blocked as a result of vehicular and human traffic on Matriculation Day.

    While presenting his address to the students, Prof Onu warned that the school has zero tolerance for cultism and other vices and told them to either shape up or ship out.

    Onu said, “Currently, 19 students of the Confucius Institute of our great polytechnic are currently enjoying various scholarships in different disciplines from the Chinese government following their sterling performances in Chinese Language and culture”

    “One of the most challenging tasks of a tertiary institution such as ours is to have an amalgam of people from different backgrounds, creeds, orientations, world view and sometimes, culture who are compelled by geography and education to stay together to experience a whole complex learning process for years”.

    “Any lecturer or staff of the Polytechnic who fails to reckon with this challenge, no doubt misses the point”

    “The beauty of it all is that, the ivory tower is a place where we must be oriented to drop our excesses, imbibe greater tolerance for other people’s opinions and world views. It is one place where you must learn that there is absolutely no one way of doing things right”

    “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is to this new culture of understanding, patience, tolerance, endurance and learning that I welcome all the new students to our “Polytechnic of the moment”, the Federal Polytechnic Oko”

    “Our dear students, as you must have already known in your pre-admission inquiry of the Polytechnic, the institution has zero tolerance for vices such as cultism, violence, fake entry certificates, unruliness, academic truancy, gangsterism and indiscipline of every dimension”

    “However, if you disagree with us on these points, it is still not late, you have a choice to reject your admission and walk away majestically from this assembly to your village or your father’s house until such a time when you consider yourself fit and mature enough for the demands and discipline of a higher institution”

    “But for those who have decided to stay, resolving to work hard, adhere to discipline and show respect to constituted authority, we say a big welcome”

    “To all our new students who have made up their minds to be part of the success story that has become the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, I wish you a happy and fruitful sojourn in the Polytechnic”

    “I wish to state emphatically that you have nothing to regret. You have made a great choice. We have created the right ambience for gainful study”

    “You have at your disposal a new and enhanced functional E-library, the biggest so far in the south east”

    “We now have modern and spacious classrooms with in-built conveniences so that students will not have to walk out of the lecture hall to answer nature calls, excellent academic environment, dedicated lecturers and staff, as well as decent student clubs and societies for your socialisation,” Onu said.

    Some of the students, who spoke with The Nation, thanked God for bringing them to the federal polytechnic Oko, describing it as the best the institution in the country.

    For Jane Eligwe of Mass Communication Department and Ngozi Chija of Marketing Department, they were grateful to the institution for providing a conducive atmosphere for learning in the place.

    According to Eligwe, “I was skeptical of coming to this place, but since I came in, I have noticed a different environment, the place is sweet, I love this institution.”

     

  • Special court for kidnappers, cultists in Imo

    As part of measures to curb the rising incidence of kidnapping and cultism, Imo State is to set up a special court to try cultism and kidnapping cases.

    Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Acho Ihim said that the court when inaugurated would ensure that suspected kidnappers and cultists are treated  according to the dictates of the law.

    The Speaker, who made the disclosure after a joint security meeting, said that other conventional courts in the state will be renovated.

    In a related development, the state government also inaugurated a committee to decongest the prisons in the state.

    The committee made up of the Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere and the Chief Judge of the State, justice Paschal Nnadi, was mandated  to visit the prisons and liaise with the authorities on how to decongest the prisons. .

    He said that the council also resolved to find a lasting solution to the lingering strike action embarked upon by the workers of Federal Medical Center Owerri ; adding that the state government will have meeting with the union of the hospital to find a lasting solution.

    Chief Ejiogu also appealed to Imo indigenes to always ensure that their gutters/drainages are kept clean as the state would be experiencing heavy down pour as forecast by Nigeria meteorological agency (NIM).

  • Three feared dead in Rivers as cultists battle for supremacy

    Three feared dead in Rivers as cultists battle for supremacy

    •Council chair:  we’re doing our best to restore normalcy

    Suspected cultists in Ubima community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State have resumed their deadly fight. As at press time yesterday, three suspected cult members were feared dead.

    Ubima community, the home town of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Sir Celestine Omehia, has been experiencing anarchy since last year.

    Some villagers, who  could not withstand the fight between the rival cult groups, have relocated to neigbouring communities for safety.

    A member of a cult group, Dewell, who pleaded anonymity, said the trouble started when one of its leaders, Chinedu Uwazurike, a.k.a Biggi, entered the territory of Axelander to buy Indian hemp and a rival group, was killed.

    “Biggi is one of our members, he just came back from another town and decided to get Indian hemp but he could not get it from a nearby shop. So, he went to a seller close to Axelander barracks. That was how they dragged him down from motorbike and started beating him until he collapsed and died.

    “When youths of his village discovered that he has been murdered, they took his body chanting a war song. They headed to the family of the leader of Axelander but before they got there, the Axelander leader came out with his men and the youths ran away. With that anger they started shooting.

    “But we have revenged by killing two of their members.The fight will continue because it is a disgrace on our side. The Axelander want to tell us that they have power by trying to convince some of our members to join them, we will know who has the best weapons in town.”

    But a member of Axelander, who pleaded anonymity while speaking with our reporter on phone, said Dewell has committed a lot of atrocities in the community, adding that its members were only waiting for time to explode.

    He said they were not killers or ready to harm any members of the community but noted that one thing they would not do was to allow other cult groups in the area to defy their rules’’

    The Chairman, Ikwerre   Local government Area, Bestman Amadi, said he had visited the community and assured them not to run away as he was doing everything possible to bring normalcy to the area.

    Amadi said:  l have visited the area. As I am talking to you security personnel are patrolling the area to restore normalcy.”

  • Police arrest 30 suspected cultists in Edo

    The police in Edo State  have arrested 30 suspected cultists in the last one month.

    Those arrested have joined the list of the 227 suspected cultists who were remanded in prison custody in May.

    The police said 20 suspected kidnappers were arrested for abducting prominent persons in the state.

    Police Commissioner Samuel Adegbuyi, who addressed reporters in Benin, the state capital, on the security situation, said the suspects were intercepted by the command’s highway patrol teams.

    Adegbuyi said 15 kidnap victims were rescued and 107 arms recovered from the suspects.

    The police chief said some of the suspects were not Edo residents but used the state as their escape route.

    He noted that local vigilantes used their knowledge of the terrain to aid the command in tracking down criminals, even at odd hours.

    Adegbuyi said: “Apart from the 227 high profile cultists arraigned in court between May 2 and 9, this year, we have 20 other suspects who have confessed to have kidnapped prominent individuals in the state and even outside the state.

    “Fifteen victims of kidnapping have been rescued. Nine AK-47 rifles were recovered. One Bareta pistol and about 60 locally made weapons as well as some paraphernalia of military outfits were recovered.”

    The police chief said highway patrol vehicles had been deployed in Benin-Lagos Road, Benin-Agbor Road, Benin-Akure Road, Auchi-Okpella Road, Ibilo, Ehor and Benin bypass.

  • Respite from kidnappers, cultists in Imo

    Respite from kidnappers, cultists in Imo

    Months of violence and tension from criminal groups are coming to an end in Imo State as the police and Department of State Security (DSS) tackle the criminals. OKODILI NDIDI reports

    Security agents have stepped up to the felons and the people can now sleep peacefully. For a while, such peaceful rest was a luxury that residents of Owerri, the Imo State capital, and environs could not afford. Kidnappers and cultists were about, perpetrating all manner of violence. Rival cultists often clashed in broad daylight, leaving blood and corpses in places that residents could easily see. Kidnapping was also on the increase. The criminals struck fear in the people.

    The activities of these dare-devil criminals are more rampant in the oil-producing communities of Ohaji Egbema and Oguta, where they torture, maim and kill innocent citizens daily.

    Most painfully, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mr. Frampton Akpanika, was killed in his apartment.

    It is unclear if Akpanika’s murder stirred the security forces into action. The crackdown on cultism and kidnapping has begun to yield result. Over 25 suspected cultists have been arrested in a forest, where they were allegedly holding what was referred to as their national conference, during which new members were reportedly recruited. It was also gathered that the group was fine-tuning their next attack.

    The cultists were reportedly nabbed by police in an ambush operation, according to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Austin Evbakavbokun, who was represented by the Command’s spokesperson, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

    Enwerem while parading the bandits at the Command’s headquarters disclosed that the Police acted on a tip-off by concerned residents, who saw them gathering in the forest.

    He said, “This group of cultists belongs to the Black Axe Fraternity and they were arrested while holding their national conference in the forest. We have promised that we are going to fight criminality to a standstill in Imo State.

    “They are the ones terrorising the state capital and other parts of the state. The command has resolved to fish them out from wherever they may be hiding and to make the state uncomfortable for all criminal elements because since the birds have learnt to fly without perching, we have learnt to shoot without missing”.

    Some of the cultists who were mainly between the ages of 19 and 26, said they were in the forest to settle a looming crisis between the two leading cult groups in the state to avoid bloodshed, while others denied that they were just passing through the forest when they were apprehended by the Police.

     

    •The suspected kidnappers
    •The suspected kidnappers

    Also, a six-man kidnap syndicate was also busted by the Department of State Security (DSS).

    The gang which includes five males and a female, were arrested after they had kidnapped Nnawike Chinaka in Nkwerre Local Government Area of the state.

    Parading the suspects before the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, the state Director of the DSS, Mr. Francis Ejiofor disclosed that the Command has set up a special Taskforce to curb the rising cases of kidnapping in the State.

    He said that the operation is beginning to yield result with the arrest of the syndicate and the rescue of the victim.

    The Governor commended the recent efforts of security operatives in the state for ensuring that kidnapping and other related crimes are brought to the barest minimum.

    He assured that the state government will continue to provide adequate support and partnership to all security operatives to make the state peaceful and crime free.

    The state Police Command had also arrested two suspected kidnappers, Ebuka Ibeh and Kelechi Nwogu, from Orsu Local Government Area of the state, who allegedly specialised in the abduction and selling of under-age children.

    The duo before their arrest had succeeded in abducting two minors, aged 4 and 3 years from their home before luck ran out of them.

    One of the suspects, during interrogation, confessed that the two children, Chigozie and Chukwuka Ezeribe from the same parents, were kidnapped along the road while their mother was out to fetch them food.

    He said, “When we monitored and found out that their mother was out we grabbed the children and drove off in a motorbike and took them to where we wanted to sell them to a waiting buyer”.

    The rescued children have been reunited with their family according to the state police boss.