The Lagos State Police Command has again reaffirmed that fighting cultism is essential to fighting and curbing crimes and criminality in Lagos state.
The Command’s Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu, made the assertion on Sunday in his Ikeja office while reviewing with his staff officers and sectional heads at the command Headquarters the strategies being put in place by the command to curb crimes and criminality, particularly cultism and hooliganism, in the State.
The police chief seized the opportunity to confirm the arrest of seven suspected members of Eiye Confraternity at Agura area, Ikorodu by police operatives attached to Imota Division on Saturday at 2pm.
The suspected cultists went to attack the officials of a Vigilante Group, popularly called Agbekoya, in the area on the same date to revenge the recent arrest or attack on one of their group members by the Vigilante group.
They caused varying degrees of injury on the Vigilante officials using machetes and guns.
The suspected cultists arrested were Abolaji Arbayo, 21; Josiah Offem, 37; Oluwapelumi Oyeyinka, 25; Lamidi Taofeeq, 41; Ahmed Shittu, 48 (Driver of their operational vehicle); Zainab Nurudeen, a female aged 20 and armourer who sources for guns to operate; and Rabiu Ganiyu, 25.
Others who were in possession of their dangerous weapons, fled the scene on sighting the police.
Items recovered from them included machetes and some charms, one green faragon bus with Registration Number: LAGOS APP 600 XA, that was used by the suspects for their operations.
The Commissioner of Police immediately directed that the case be transferred to the State CID, Panti for proper investigation as well as sending signals to other cultists and men of the underworld that Lagos State will be too hot for them to operate or hibernate.
Odumosu ordered the Department of Operations to reduce his directives on anti-crime strategies of the command into a signal and circulate same to all police stations and formations for strict compliance with immediate effect.