Lagos State Police Command has arrested five suspected cultists allegedly involved in criminal activities across the Apapa, Ijora and Badia areas of the state.
The arrests were made by operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit following credible intelligence, according to a statement issued on Saturday by the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abimbola Adebisi.
Adebisi said the operation began with the arrest of 25-year-old Abubakar Ayomide, popularly known as “Garbazin,” who allegedly led investigators to the group’s hideout, where four other suspects were apprehended.
The other suspects were identified as Tanko Yusuf, 23; Ahmed Abibu, 24; Abubakar Shafi, 23; and Fatai Mohammed, 25.
According to the police, a search of the hideout led to the recovery of a battle axe, one UTC knife, two other knives, a hammer, substances suspected to be Indian hemp, suspected criminal charms and other exhibits.
The command said Ayomide confessed to being a member of the Aiye Confraternity and had provided investigators with useful information. It added that efforts are ongoing to track down other members of the group as investigations continue ahead of prosecution.
Reacting to the arrests, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, warned cultists and other criminal elements operating in the state to abandon their activities or face the full weight of the law.
He reiterated the command’s commitment to intensifying intelligence-led operations to combat cultism and other violent crimes, while urging residents to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies, assuring them that all reports would be treated confidentially.
