Officers of the Lagos State Police Command have apprehended 77 suspected cultists who engaged in violent clashes that led to the death of one individual around Oke ira, Ajah, Lagos State.
Police officers had picked up 16 suspects on Thursday after members of two cult groups, Aiye and Eiye, began to disturb the peace in the area by fighting and injuring themselves publicly.
Then, on Friday, other 59 suspects were nabbed by a team of police officers, led by the DPO of Lamgbasa Police Station, Adaobi Okafor.
Two additional suspects were equally arrested yesterday, taking the tally of the arrests to 77.
According to the police spokesperson, Bala Elkana, all the suspects that were arrested, had harmful objects such as knives, guns, and cutlasses in their possession which indicated that they were bent on harming themselves.
He further explained that many of them had traveled to Ajah from Ikorodu by water in a bid to increase the intensity of the quarrel and cause further mayhem.
While talking to newsmen, the Police PRO said, “That particular group usually comes from Ikorodu through Ijede to operate in Ajah. On Thursday, 16 suspects were arrested. The personnel of the Lamgbasa Police Station also carried out an intensive raid in conjunction with neighboring DPOs; they trailed the source where the hoodlums were coming from and arrested 59 of them on Friday.
“On Saturday, two more suspects were arrested. They were arrested with various weapons like guns, knives, cutlasses and more.”
In addition, residents of the area complained that they had always lived in fear as there were always clashes between cult groups.
One resident, Abimbola, who spoke to Punch reporters, stated, “We live in fear in this area because of the activities of the cult boys. They fight almost on a daily basis. Down there, they sell Indian hemp like sachet water. Whenever they are high after smoking hemp, they resort to making troubles.
“The firearms these cultists wield are superior to those of the police.
“Thursday’s clash was horrific. Nobody was killed from both sides because of the quick intervention of the police in restoring peace to the area.”
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