The Lagos State Police Command has intensified its crackdown on cult-related violence with the arrest of five suspected members of a notorious cult group accused of terrorising residents of Apapa, Ijora and Badia, recovering weapons, suspected illicit drugs and items believed to be criminal charms during the operation.
The arrests were carried out by operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) following credible intelligence on the activities of the suspected gang in the affected communities.
Police identified the principal suspect on Saturday as 25-year-old Abubakar Ayomide, popularly known as “Garbazin”, whose arrest led detectives to the gang’s hideout where four other suspects were apprehended.
The other suspects apprehended by the law enforcement officers were identified as Tanko Yusuf, 23; Ahmed Abibu, 24; Abubakar Shafi, 23; and Fatai Mohammed, 25.
According to the police, the principal suspect confessed to being a member of the notorious Aiye Confraternity and has volunteered useful information to investigators to aid the arrest of other fleeing members of the gang.
A search of the hideout yielded a cache of dangerous weapons and other exhibits, including a battle axe, a UTC knife, two additional knives, a hammer, substances suspected to be Indian hemp and items suspected to be criminal charms.
Police said investigations are continuing while efforts have been intensified to track down other members of the criminal network before charging the suspects to court.
Reacting to the operation, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, warned cult groups and other criminal elements operating in the state to desist, declaring that there would be no safe haven for anyone involved in violent crimes.
He said the Command remained committed to identifying, arresting and prosecuting all persons linked to cultism and other forms of criminality, stressing that intelligence-driven operations would continue across Lagos until such crimes are decisively curtailed.
“There is no hiding place for cultists in Lagos. We will continue to identify, arrest and prosecute every individual involved in cult-related violence and other criminal acts,” the Commissioner said.
He reassured residents of the Command’s determination to sustain aggressive policing and urged members of the public to support security agencies by providing timely and credible information capable of preventing crime and leading to the arrest of offenders.