The Delta State Police Command has arrested nine suspected cultists following separate operations in Obiaruku and Issele-Ikpitime, recovering a locally fabricated single-barrelled gun, a cut-to-size gun, a live cartridge, suspected illicit drugs, and a battle axe, the Command announced on Tuesday.
According to police spokesman SP Bright Edafe, operatives of the Special Anti-Kidnapping Unit (SAKU), Ubulu-Uku, stormed a property on Ghana Quarters Street, Umuebu Road, Obiaruku, on September 13 after receiving intelligence about suspected cult activity in the area.
“The search led to the recovery of one locally fabricated single-barrelled gun, one live cartridge, quantities of suspected illicit drugs, one battle axe, mobile phones and a laptop computer,” Edafe said in a statement.
Seven suspects were taken into custody: Wisdom Enede, 25; Ocheli Solomon, 42; Nnaji Godstime, 23; Izu Thankgod, 28; Kester Adishi, 31; Oghonogho Pentecost, 28; and Adishi Prince, 28.
Police said the suspects confessed during questioning to belonging to the Vikings and Black Axe confraternities, and also made admissions linking them to internet fraud. “Investigation is ongoing to establish their individual roles, the source of the recovered firearm and possible links to other criminal activities,” the statement added.
In a separate incident on September 12, police in the Onicha-Olona Division responded to reports of a cult attack on residents of Issele-Ikpitime Village. Officers arrested two suspects, Emmanuel Believe, 29, and Israel Nwaobi, 27, both from the same village and recovered a locally made cut-to-size gun.
Responding officers also rescued a man who had sustained a gunshot wound during the attack and took him to hospital for treatment. Police say efforts to track down other members of the gang are continuing.
Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Samuel E. Erale, has ordered investigators to trace the origins of the recovered weapons and identify anyone else connected to the suspects.
“We will continue to act on credible intelligence to disrupt criminal activities across the state,” Erale said, warning against cult-related violence and the illegal possession of firearms.
