The Ogun State Police Command says it has arrested 15 suspected cultists during separate raids on criminal hideouts at different locations in the Igbesa area of the state.
PUNCH Metro learnt on Tuesday from the state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, that the separate raids occurred between March 19 and 21, 2024, following reported cult-related rivalry clashes, which reportedly threw the residents of the community in disarray.
During one of the clashes, it was learnt that a yet-to-be-identified man who was at a shop was hit by a stray bullet, sustaining serious gunshot wounds, while some other members of the cult groups were reportedly killed during the violent clash.
Similarly, PUNCH Metro reported on March 20, 2024, that two suspected cultists, Sanni Ibrahim and Azeez Bada, were brutally murdered in a suspected clash between rival cult groups when a group of boys numbering about 20 invaded the community and started chasing one another with dangerous weapons such as guns and cutlasses.
While one of them was reportedly macheted to death right in front of his mother’s house, a teenage suspect was said to have sustained a severe gunshot wound and was later confirmed dead by a doctor a few minutes later.
Following this violent clash, Odutola, while disclosing the arrest of the 15 suspects, told our correspondent that the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Agbara Police Division was deployed to raid all criminal hideouts in the area to fish out the suspects.
She said, “A series of general raids of criminal hideouts and searches of suspects who participated in the violent clash led to the deaths of persons believed to be members of the groups and injuries to other residents, including the husband of a shop owner who sustained a gunshot wound between March 19 and 21, 2024.
“Members of the anti-cultism unit from six police divisions participated in the raids, which were led by the Agbara anti-cultism squad. During the late-hour raids, 15 suspects were arrested at different locations. They have been transferred to Eleweran, and the suspects will be profiled, interviewed, and bailed according to their involvement.”
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