On Tuesday, the Edo State Police Command apprehended 81 individuals suspected of engaging in diverse criminal activities throughout the state.
Addressing the press while presenting the suspects, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Dankwara, revealed that the arrests were part of an ongoing crackdown on criminals initiated on December 11.
The suspects were detained for offenses including cultism, car theft, illegal possession of firearms, and kidnapping, among other criminal activities.
Dankwara highlighted that a significant number of those arrested were involved in cultism, further noting that there were indications of influential figures linked to these cult groups based on intelligence gathered.
He said, “This is to warn either those in government or outside that is supporting cult group tactically or financially to desist from it because anybody no matter how highly placed would be prosecuted.
“We have arrested members of various cult groups but the prominent ones that usually have problems in the state are black axe, Eiye, and Maphite confraternities.”
He called on cult groups to desist from their criminal act as the clampdown would continue, noting that there is no benefit to being a cult member.
He added, “We have intelligence that highly places people in the state are supporting and behind this cult group and once we can verify this, we would go after them because they can’t make the state ungovernable.
“Anywhere we know that there are cultists whether individual houses or public places, we would go there and arrest them.”
