The Nation Newspaper

Tag: suspected cultists

  • Six suspected cultists arrested in Ibarapa Poly

    Six suspected cultists arrested in Ibarapa Poly

    Six students of the Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, have been arrested for cultism related activities by men of the Oyo State joint security outfit codenamed ‘Operation Burst.’

    Parading the suspects in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital Friday, the crime busters, who followed a lead from a renounced cultist, said the security operative has been on a surveillance and monitoring of the suspects for about three months, following continuous reports of cult related activities by the school management before the eventual arrest.

    Brig. Gen. Usman Yussuf told reporters that three of the suspects confessed to be members of different cult groups.

    He said: “Following our intolerance for crimes in the state, six students of Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa were arrested for cultism and cult-related matters yesterday

    “We have been following on a lead from one renounced cultist whom the cult members have been tormenting to woo him back to their midst. He has suffered a lot of molestation and harassment from the group but he has been so supportive in providing useful information that led to the arrest of the suspects

    “Although investigation is still ongoing but three of the suspects have confessed to be cultist while the other three have also been identified as cultist by those who confessed despite their initial denial

    He gave the students names as  Olufunmilayo Olanrewaju Bamidele, 24, ND 1 student of Mass Communication Department; Oluwafunmilola Oloyede, 23, ND II Computer Science student and Olowonikoko Oluwasina, 24.

    Others are Mubarak Adesewa Moshood, 24, ND II Fine Art student; David Abodunrin, 22 and Agbebi Oluwafemi, 23.

  • Army arrests 17 suspected cultists, others in Rivers

    Army arrests 17 suspected cultists, others in Rivers

    The Nigerian Army said on Tuesday that it arrested 17 suspected cultists and armed robbers alleged to have carried out several killings and theft in Rivers.

    Capt. Eli Lazarus, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, presented the suspects, arms and ammunition to newsmen in Port Harcourt.

    He said that several arms and live ammunition were seized during raids aimed at stopping the current wave of killings and armed robbery in the state.

    “Following heightened criminal activities, the 2 Brigade conducted several raid operations on criminals and cultists’ hideouts in the state.

    “These operations led to the recovery of several weapons including 16 AK 47 rifles, five General Purpose Machine guns and two Fabrique National rifles.

    “Others are six Pump Action rifles, three G-3 rifles, 11 Short Dane guns, six locally made pistols, two Beretta pistols, two Revolver pistols and nine pieces of dynamite,” he said.

    Lazarus said that live ammunition seized from the suspects were three G-3 magazines, 11 Fabrique National magazines, 15 AK 47 rifle magazines and 508 rounds of 7.62mm  (NATO) ammunition.

    He listed other ammunition to include 313 rounds of 7.62mm (special) ammunition, 14 rounds of 0.9mm ammunition and three cartridges.

    The army spokesman said that troops also recovered from the suspects, military boots, belts, three lanyards and one fragmental jacket.

    “The operations were conducted at Ahoada East, Ogbogoro community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area; Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni and Isiokpo in Ikwerre LGA,” he said.

    Lazarus said the operation would continue until other cultists, kidnappers, armed robbers were either arrested or chased out from the state.

    He called on members of the public to provide security agencies with timely information that would lead to arrest of criminals in the state and in its environs.

  • 13 killed as suspected cultists clash in Kogi

    13 killed as suspected cultists clash in Kogi

    Suspected cultists yesterday clashed in Idah, Kogi State. Thirteen people were killed in the reprisal.

    The cultists belonging to a yet-to-be identified group unleashed terror, following the death of one of their members, who was reportedly killed by a rival cult.

    The clash reportedly began last Friday night when Danjuma Amodu aka Murphy was shot in front of his family home in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Idah.

    In a reprisal, gunmen in a Volkswagen Golf car were said to have attacked the town. Thirteen people were killed and several injured.

    A source said the gunmen blocked the road between Ibro and Bishop Road junctions between 8am and 10am, from where they headed for a bar at Igalaogba in search of their targets.

    The owner of the bar, Haruna Achema and his wife were reportedly injured. A customer was killed.

    At Idah waterside, eight persons were reportedly killed. A woman was killed by stray bullets.

    The Nation learnt that military personnel have been deployed in the area.

    Police Commissioner Yakubu Usman said last Saturday, suspected cultists shot dead a 27-year-old old man on the Anyigba-Idah Road, adding that the body was taken to a police station.

    He said gunmen followed them and one of his men was injured.

    Usman said as the men retreated after the gun duel with his officers, they attacked three people, who were taken to hospital.

    He said his men were trailing them.

     

  • RRS arrests 46 suspected cultists

    RRS arrests 46 suspected cultists

    Forty-Six persons suspected to be members of Awawa confraternity have been arrested by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives.

    They were arrested in Agege and on Agidingbi Road, Ikeja, last Saturday.

    The suspects, comprising 40 boys and six girls, are Mufutau Boboye, Yekinni Oluwatobi, Emmanuel Oluwatosin, Mutaru Watara, Kazeem Bello, Musiliu Adebisi, Semiu Ayedun, Daniel Oliyide, Adeyemi Adekanbi, Bello Ahmed, Owoseni Ahmed, Qudus Lawal, Saheed Badmus, Taofik Saliu and Adeyemo Jamiu.

    Others are Anthony Samuel, Femi Olayiwola, Elijah Kingsley, Jamiu Ogungbemi, Otapo Sule, Araba Adekunle, Lukman Arowoseni, Shina Aliu, Livinus Akorbar, Ezekiel Udoh, Shina Rasheed, Ibrahim Adarijo, Oniyide Samuel, Fatai Kareem, Fatai Ramoni, Kamoru Jimoh, Korede Adisa, Segun Oderinde, Akeem Habeeb, Samson Olufemi, Ayobami Oderinde, Uche Obasi, Tobi Adenni, Toheeb Olayeni, Aransiola Olumide, Iyabo Ibitayo, Toyin Kafilat, Oladipupo Mariam, Eniola Oyedele, Rukayat Akeem and Kabirat Akeem.

    In a three-hour operation led by Timothy Ojetunde, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), the RRS combed Agidingbi, Agege and Ogba for the suspects who were said to have dispossessed some people of their valuables in Agidingbi towards Omole and Akilo Roads.

    RRS, in a statement, said it had been receiving daily complaints about “a group of young boys and girls with ages ranging between 15 and 22 years, making lives difficult for residents and disrupting the peace in Agege and its environs”.

    The group, it also claimed, rape, loot, snatch and dispossess people of their belongings.

    “Having studied their black spots and based camps around Agege and its environs, we carried out a special operation on the areas identified as their hide-outs. Before we could make arrest of these suspects, they engaged us in a fight, stoning us with pebbles and broken bottles,” the statement said, adding that on arrival at the RRS Headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja, the suspects still threatened to make life unbearable for policemen, shouting that “no one can arrest them and go scot-free”.

    “The suspects as obstinate as they are, were still raging that no one can arrest them and go scot-free. They still have the guts to be threatening us that if we don’t let them go, their colleagues who are yet to be arrested, would besiege our base the following day and set them free. But we are more than ready for them,” the statement added.

    Some of them, according to RRS, said they were lured into the Awawa group through the peer pressure.

    A suspect, Lukmon Arowoseni, was quoted saying: “I was forced to join them on the account that I would be very powerful among my peers.  They promised me that I would have free access to girls who are members of the group.

    “One thing is certain, once you join the group, it would be very difficult to dissociate yourself again. And you must also be part of their proceedings and operations anytime they are set to go out. We loot, rape and rob innocent members of public each and every time we were at operation. We don’t fear anybody even police because we are always in hundreds.”

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), described the Awawa gang as a violent group which has been under surveillance.

    “We are after them. Their financiers and leaders are our targets, with those in our dragnet, the tide is against them,” she said.

    The suspects have been handed over to Environmental Task Force, Alausa for prosecution.

    A week ago, RRS arrested 15 suspected members of the group from their Agege hideouts.

  • Suspected cultists ‘kill’ car wash operator

    Suspected cultists ‘kill’ car wash operator

    Suspected cultists yesterday shot dead a car wash operator, Bayo Ajia, in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The incident caused confusion on the Ibrahim Taiwo Road.

    The deceased in 2004 was sentenced to death by an Ilorin High Court for murder.

    He and the other accused  appealed at the Court of Appeal. The judgment of the High Court was affirmed by the Supreme Court.

    He was, however, pardoned by the last administration.

    Ajia was allegedly killed  at his car wash business premises on Ibrahim Taiwo Road.

    The four suspected assailants reportedly came to the car wash located under the bridge, close to the stadium, and shot Ajia in the forehead.

    An eyewitness said the suspected cultists, believed to have come from one of the Southwest states, cut the deceased with a machete after shooting him.

    The cultists were said to have arrived the deceased’s workshop in a taxi about 4:15 pm and confronted him. He was said to be alone in the shop.

    The incident caused a gridlock.

    The deceased, who is survived by four wives and many children, was buried yesterday at the Muslim cemetery, Irewolede.

    Police spokesman Ajayi Okansanmi did not confirm the incident.

    He said he had not received details of the circumstances leading to the alleged murder.

     

     

  • Police arrests seven suspected cultists in Ebonyi

    Police arrests seven suspected cultists in Ebonyi

    Seven suspected cultists including a kingpin have been arrested by the Police in Ebonyi State over recent cult activities in the state.

    The spokesman of the command, ASP George Okafor stated this in Abakaliki, the state capital.

    He the kingpin of one of the cult groups was arrested in Akaeze Ivo local government area of the state in the night while holding meeting with his group.m

    Mr Okafor further revealed that the Police stormed the meeting of another cault group at midnight  of Tuesday where twenty cult members were holding their meeting in Ntezi, Ishielu local government area following a distress call it received from residents.

    He said:‘’On sighting the police, the group ran away but one of them was later arrested and he confessed to be member of Aye confraternity.”

    The spokesman said the command also arrested three cult members in Ezza North local government area and some others in Afikpo North and South local government areas.

    He noted the police is still trailing other fleeing members of the cult groups.

    He expressed dismay over the increasing cases of cult activities in the state and warned that the command will not fold its hands and watch hoodlums disrupt existing peace in the state.

    “Those arrested will be prosecuted after investigation,” said.

  • Suspected cultists hack two friends to death

    Some members of an unidentified cult group penultimate Monday killed two friends in Alapoti village, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

    The victims, who shared the same name, Sulaiman, allegedly slept when their assailants hacked them to death.

    Our correspondent gathered that a few days to the incident, a disagreement had broken out between the victims and a youth simply identified as Abideen over an unidentified woman.

    According to an impeccable source who asked not to be identified, Abideen was seeing off the woman, when one of the victims accused him of flirting with the woman whom he claimed was his father’s girlfriend.

    “Although some elders of the community brokered peace between them, the matter did not go down well with Abideen, who subsequently reported the two friends to a suspected leader of a cult group.”

    Another source who did not want to be named, however, said that the two friends may have been killed for declining to join the unidentified cult group a few months ago.

    It was gathered that the suspected cultists who allegedly masterminded the killing of the two friends have since fled the town.

    Our correspondent learnt that one of the victims had since been buried while one of the bodies is still in the mortuary.

    The spokesman of Ogun Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, could not be reached on his mobile phone at press time.

  • Suspected cultists set house, cars ablaze

    •Stop fire fighters from containing outbreak

    Suspected cultists yesterday burned down a building and two vehicles at Ogijo, Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb.

    The arsonists were said to have attacked the properties belonging to the father of a leader in a rival cult group, located beside Omoleye hospital in Ogijo.

    It was learnt that the groups have had several clashes in the neighbourhood, destroying properties and valuables.

    The Nation gathered that the attacks forced residents to flee their homes for fear of being hurt by the cultists.

    Before the hoodlums set the house ablaze, they damaged two vehicles parked in the compound.

    They were said to have poured petrol on the building and lit it, keeping watch to ensure it was completely razed.

    Fire fighters at Ikorodu, who got to the scene to quench the fire were obstructed by the cultists, who threatened to also set fire on them and their truck if they do not vacate the premises.

    Confirming the development, the state fire service director, Rasaq Fadipe said the arson was reported at about 10:26am.

    Fadipe said: “Someone ran to the station to report the outbreak and our men moved to the site to contain it. But some boys came around and halted them from quenching the fire. They threatened to burn the men and the truck if they don’t leave the site. I do not know why they set the building ablaze but I learnt it belonged to the father of a rival cult member.”

    Fadipe also admitted that the fire service attended to a distress call at the Pan African University.

    According to him, the call was received at about 3:40pm, adding that the inferno started at the school’s diesel tank that supplies its generator.

    He said the fire destroyed the tank, the generator, as well as a PHCN cable.

    While warning Lagos residents to be safety conscious especially as the dry season approaches, Fadipe said the agency attended to six other cases yesterday.

    He said: “We attended to a fire call at 11 Ihuntayi Street in Lekki; there was also a fire outbreak which affected two buildings of eight rooms each at Muri Ojora Street, Amukoko.

    “Then, a confectionery factory at 5 /6 Peter Olu Ajayi Street, Agbado was gutted by fire, but our quick intervention saved the day; a restaurant at Ijaiye, Ogba also caught fire, thankfully, we were able to contain the fire there so that it does not spread into other shops and a bank beside it.

    “There was also a call of a drunk driver who was involved in a lone accident at Ebute Ero. By the time we got there, policemen were already at the scene and the man identified as Kasumu, claimed two of his passengers fell into the river.

    “But a search was conducted and no one was found in the river. You can see that most of the cases were caused by carelessness. People have to be careful especially now that the dry season is near,” he said.

  • Suspected cultists dump unidentified body inside water container

    Suspected cultists dump unidentified body inside water container

    Residents of Oke–Ison Street, Oke-Efon, Abeokuta are still in  shock  after sighting,on Thursday July 30, 2015, the body of an unidentified lady in a plastic container filled with water.

    The  body had apparently been  dumped in the plastic container in the wee hours of the day.

    The state of the body suggested that it was set on fire before it was abandoned.

    The  residents rained curses on the perpetrators of the dastard act.

    Mrs Memuda Adekunle lives adjacent to the scene.

    “This incident is absolutely strange,” she told The Nation as she recalled what she saw.

    “I sighted the body at about 6.54 am when I noticed that the container had been moved from where I placed it to another spot,” she said.

    “I became curious and decided to open the container only to discover the girl’s body and I quickly alerted my husband as well as neighbours about it.

    “The perpetrators must have strangled the girl before setting fire to her body in order to cover their tracks. One can only hope that police would fish out those behind this incident.”

    Community leaders quickly  reported the incident at the  Adatan Police Station.

    A team of police investigators later visited the scene and evacuated the body to the  mortuary.

    Cultists are said to have  turned the community into their den and have been unleashing terror on their perceived opponents.  A resident who asked not to be mentioned said: “Without prejudice to the outcome of investigation being carried out by the police, I strongly believe the victim was killed and dumped here by cultists who have invaded our community.

    “Only recently, a human head was discovered in a bush which the cultists have been using to carry out abominable acts. We are therefore urging the Ogun State government to rescue us from the grip of these blood-thirsty youths.”

    When contacted on the telephone for his comments, the spokesman for the  State Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi promised to revert to our correspondent but was yet to do so at press time.

  • Six suspected cultists arraigned for robbing woman

    Six persons, – Lasisi Rasheed, 21; Bamolu Niyi, 23; Tope  Oyebola, 26; Michael Kalu, 24; Ugunna Aruchi, 19 and Ebuka Frank, 21 have appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s court in Lagos for allegedly robbing a 28 year old business woman, Bunmi James.

    The defendants were said to have beaten the woman after obtaining IPhone 5 and N680, 000 cash from her on February 23 at 11pm in Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, on her way from work.

    They are said to be members of Buccaneer and Bird (Eiye) fraternity at Alaka Street in Surulere.

    The defendants pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge of conspiracy, felony and robbery.

    Prosecuting Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Eti Nkankuk told the court that the defendants committed an offence contrary to Sections 295 and 42 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State.

    The defence counsels, Ali Abba and Babatunde Awotunbo, applied for the bail of the defendants in the most liberal terms.

    Magistrate  M.O. Isaac granted the defendants N500,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum following the application of their lawyers, Ali Abba and Babatunde Awotumbo.

    The case was adjourned to March 23.