The Lagos State Police Command Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, has arrested eleven cult members who claimed to be students of the Lagos State University, LASU.
They were nabbed at Ijanikin, a suburb of Lagos along Lagos/Badagry Expressway, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria.
A police source told us that two members of Eiye Confraternity had hired a commercial motorcyclist (okada rider) to take them to Ijanikin where they shot a rival cultist, a member of Aiye Confraternity.
The okada rider, after the shooting, contacted SARS operatives who arrested the suspect’s accomplice identified as Wasiu.The cultist, who fired the shot managed to escape, but Wasiu led policemen to the hideout of the cultists at Ijanikin, where other cult members were arrested, the police source revealed.
According to the source, items recovered from the suspected cultists include three locally made cut to size rifles, one black bag, one locally made pistol, one live cartridge, four axes, one cutlass, one black beret and one phone.
Those arrested include Amos Acholo, 25, an indigene of Kogi State who claimed to be a businessman but a part-time student of LASU; Ojo Ola-Oluwa, 28, from Osun State, Olupooye Foluso, 27, claimed to be a student of Political Science at LASU, Haruna Olanrewaju, 28, from Kwara State said he is not a LASU student but joined the cult because he is jobless and Ismail Alli, 24, claimed he is a businessman from Sokoto State and he dropped out of school.
Others are: a 23-year old Malian, Jiba Abdulahi who said he is into business; Adeyinka Phillips, 25, claimed to be a Lagos State indigene and a student of Computer Science at Lagos State Polytechnic; Edeh Michael said he attended Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Ijanikin while another suspect, Irikivewe Charles told the police he is still struggling for admission.
Another member of the cult group, Udemeobong from Cross River State, said he is a 200 level student at LASU. He confessed to the police that he was initiated into the cult last year when he visited his friend in Benin City, Edo State.
Police sources told us this morning that the suspected cultists will soon be arraigned in court on charges of attempted murder.
Meanwhile, the victim who was shot by the suspects is still lying critically ill in an undisclosed hospital. He was said to be having a swollen stomach perhaps caused by bullets lodged in his belly.
When we called the Public Relations Officer, of LASU students’ union, Teju Azeez, this morning, he disowned the suspects, saying “they are not LASU students.”
