The police in Bayelsa State have arrested 23 suspected cultists and recovered firearms, ammunition and suspected illicit medicine following a wave of cult-related violence in Yenagoa that left 4 individuals lifeless, the police have stated.
The Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, disclosed this in an announcement shared on the command’s Facebook web page on Saturday, detailing a sequence of intelligence-led operations performed between 23 September and eight October.
Mr Adewale stated rival cult teams had carried out assaults and reprisals in a number of communities and neighbourhoods in Yenagoa, together with Igbogene, Onopa, Ovom, Agudama, Amarata, Swali and Akenfa. Some of the assaults resulted in fatalities and life-threatening accidents, he stated.
The arrests concerned suspects accused of cultism, tried homicide, illegal possession of firearms and breach of public peace.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the commissioner of police ordered a crackdown on cultists, their financiers and collaborators.
How the arrests had been made
The police stated operatives of the Anti-Cultism Unit arrested two suspects throughout coordinated operations between 23 September and 5 October.
A suspect, recognized as Tarimie James, 24, was arrested close to St Anglican Church in Ovom group. The police stated he admitted being a member of the Icelanders confraternity and {that a} domestically fabricated Beretta pistol was recovered from him. The command stated he was remanded pending trial.
Another suspect, Ezeikiel Joel, 24, from Igbogene group, was arrested with an computerized pump-action gun, different weapons and a drum allegedly used throughout cult conferences. The police stated he confessed to belonging to the Ku Klux Klan confraternity.
On 5 October, operatives of the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit arrested 5 different suspects in reference to assaults and reprisals that allegedly prompted life-threatening accidents in a number of the affected communities.
The suspects had been recognized as Zaidamun Paul, Anthony Okorie, Godsgift Angel, Richman Kudi and Victor Kelsy. The police stated a Beretta pistol, axes, cutlasses and knives had been recovered in the course of the operation.
The command additionally reported recovering a domestically made revolver pistol and three rounds of stay 9mm ammunition at Ugbogene on 6 October.
According to the police, the weapon was deserted by a suspect who fled into a close-by swamp after sighting operatives. The command stated it was working to arrest him.
Eight extra suspects arrested
Police stated a joint operation on 7 and eight October led to the arrest of eight further suspects in Akenfa, Igbogene, and Swali communities.
READ ALSO: Police commissioner in Bayelsa orders crackdown on cult groups
One of them, recognized as Baratua-Pre Bara, 30, was arrested in Akenfa. The police stated he confessed to being the quantity two chief of the Icelanders confraternity in Yenagoa and was scheduled to be arraigned on 12 October.
At Igbogene Motor Park, operatives arrested Funkuro Bereh, 25, and Kelvin Adamu, 28. The command stated each males admitted belonging to the Bobos confraternity. It stated Mr Adamu was on remand awaiting trial, whereas Mr Bereh was anticipated to be arraigned in courtroom.
Four different suspects had been arrested in Swali, together with Vincent Ikiye, 20; Benjamin Akeno, 26; Esuaye Ikeclear, 30; and Gift Torie, 23. The police recognized them as alleged members of the Bobos confraternity.
The police additionally arrested the eighth suspect, Job Simon, 32, a businessman from Gbarain within the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa. The police stated he admitted belonging to the identical confraternity and was scheduled to be charged to courtroom on 12 October.
The command stated the arrests adopted a joint raid operation, including that group youths handed one of many suspects over to the police.
In its abstract of the operations, the command listed firearms, ammunition and different gadgets allegedly recovered from the suspects.
The police listed recovered gadgets to incorporate three domestically made revolver pistols, 9 stay rounds of 9mm ammunition, 20 cartridges, 5 cutlasses, two battle axes, a drum, two cans of nitrous oxide, 17 bottles of a substance recognized as codeine and a bag of dried leaves suspected to be hashish.
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