The Osun State Police Command says it has arrested six suspected cultists believed to be terrorising Osogbo and neighbouring communities.
The Command’s spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Osogbo on Friday, noting that the arrests were part of ongoing efforts by the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, to clamp down on cultism and related crimes in the state.
Ojelabi said two suspects, identified by their nicknames “Orife” and “Aga,” both 29, were apprehended on August 21 during a student union week at one of the state’s higher institutions, following intelligence reports.
“The anti-cultism unit of the command arrested two suspected notorious cultists… They confessed to be member of Aiye and Buccaneer confraternities (Alora) respectively,” he stated.
He added that on August 19, four other suspects were also arrested in Okuku Town after police detectives acted on credible intelligence. The suspects, he said, confessed to being members of the Aiye confraternity.
In a related operation, Ojelabi explained that police operatives stormed the hideouts of suspected armed members of the Eiye confraternity, led by one “Gafari,” who had been terrorising Gbeja and Oke-Baale areas of Osogbo.
Although the suspects fled on sighting the security operatives, the police recovered a cut-to-size single-barrel gun, a cut-to-size double-barrel gun, five cutlasses, an axe, and three live cartridges from their hideouts.
He said efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects, assuring that all those arrested would be charged to court upon completion of investigations.
The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, urged students to steer clear of cultism and focus on their education, warning that the law would take its full course against anyone caught engaging in such activities.
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