Giving a breakdown of how the suspects were nabbed, the police said in April, 42 suspected cultists belonging to different groups were arrested at different places within the state, while 17 others were arrested in June.
Speaking at the parade on Thursday with the media, including members of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Idowu Owohunwa represented by the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin lamented the high rate of cultism in the state, but maintained that the Command is on top of the matter and using proactive means to address the menace.
Hundeyin said that the suspects paraded were arrested within three weeks, stressing that cultism has become a major crime that was giving the command serious problems.
He said that the police recovered dangerous weapons, including ammunition, guns, cutlasses, knives, charms of all kinds, and their Barrets representing their groups.
The PPRO appealed to the members of the public to join hands in bringing the menace to an end in Lagos State.
He said, amongst those paraded were suspected armed robbers, murderers and suspected 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.
Explaining further, Hundeyin said on June 30th, at about 2.00 p.m., based on credible intelligence that a group of boys suspected to be members of Kesari Confraternity were planning to retaliate against their leader’s death on other rival cult members in the Mushin area.
He said police operatives from the command swung into action and arrested five suspects who were between ages 20 and 27.
He said that the suspects were members of a notorious armed robbery/cultism gang terrorizing Mushin and its environs and that they confessed to being active members of the Confraternity.
Hundeyin said that two Eiye confraternity members were also arrested in the Ebute-Metta area on Tuesday, while they were brandishing arms to go and attack rival cult members in the same area.
He said that 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 the 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 NNPC Pipeline at Idimu on July 6, 2023, was arrested, while efforts were on to arrest other members of the gang.
He reassured the residents of the state that the Commissioner of Police 'would continue to do everything operationally possible to ensure that crime and criminality are brought to the barest minimum in the State.' All arrests, according to the CP were consequences of diligent investigation, adding that all suspects would be charged to court.
.png)
0 Comments