A 54-year old suspected cultist, Jimoh Lasisi, who was arrested by the police has denied being a member of Aiye confraternity, saying he was framed by a member of the vigilante in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
Lasisi claimed that the vigilante arrested him over a quarrel with his neighbor, who was also a vigilante member, who later framed him as a cultist and handed him over at the police station.
The state command spokesman, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said the suspect was arrested in connection with the recent cult clashes in the state that led to the deaths of some people.
However, Lasisi, who spoke to journalists at the state command headquarters, said his arrest was as a result of a quarrel between him and a vigilante member who was his neighbour.
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“I had a quarrel with a member of Edo State Security Network whom we are staying with in the same house along Siloko road. He called his colleagues and told them that I was a cultist, and I was arrested.
“They came to arrest me at my house that I am a cultist, but I told them I am not a cultist. They bundled me into their vehicle and on the way, they asked me to bail myself out with N5000 and I told them I only had N2000 on me. They refused to collect it and handed me over to the police, saying I was a cultist.
“I am a native doctor, I sell herbal medicine in Edo, I am 54 years old with three grandchildren. I have been in Benin for 36 years and this is my first time entering a police station. Is it at my age now that I will have to join a cultist group?” he questioned.