No fewer than 80 suspected cultists have been arrested between April and July 14, 2023 in Lagos State, the News Agency of Nigeria is reporting.
NAN recalls that in April, 42 suspected cultists, allegedly belonging to different groups, were arrested within the state.
Seventeen others were also arrested in June.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, on Friday paraded 27 suspects, while 20 of them were suspected cultists.
Hundeyin said the suspects paraded were arrested within three weeks, stressing that cultism had become a major crime giving the command worries.
According to him, Mushin, Ikorodu, Okokomaiko, Ebute-Metta, Obalende and Lekki-Ajah, Shomolu, Badagry are areas where the suspects have their bases.
The image maker said that in many of the arrests, police had recovered dangerous weapons, including ammunition, guns, cutlasses, knives, charms of all kinds and the Barrets representing their groups.
Hundeyin appealed to members of the public to join hands in bringing this menace to an end in Lagos state.
He said amongst those paraded also were suspected armed robbers, murderers and vandals.
“From all these cases which we successfully cracked, we recovered a total of six arms, 12 live ammunition, one knife, two motorcycles, one vehicle and sim cards,” he said.
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Explaining further, Hundeyin said on June 30, at about 2pm, based on credible intelligence, some group of boys suspected to be members of Kesari Confraternity were planning to retaliate their leader’s death on other rival cult members in Mushin area of the state.
He said police operatives of the command swung into action and arrested five suspects who were between ages 20 and 27.
The spokesperson said the suspects were members of a notorious armed robbery/cultism gang terrorising Mushin and its environs and they confessed to being active members of the confraternity.
Hundeyin said that two Eiye confraternity members were also arrested at Ebute-Metta area on Tuesday while they were brandishing arms to go and attack rival cult members in same area.
He said the operatives arrested 10 others, including a female member, at Iba Okokomaiko after they allegedly killed one Ojo Lion.
“The suspects confessed to being members of Eiye confraternity. locally made single barrel pistol with two live cartridges were recovered from them,” he said.
The image maker said one pipeline vandal, whose gang allegedly vandalised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited pipeline at Idimu on July 6, 2023 was arrested, while efforts were on to arrest other members of the gang.
Hundeyin said that all suspects paraded would be charged to court immediately.
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