Lagos police parade 34 suspected cultists, others

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested 34 suspects for various crimes including armed robbery, stealing, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms.

According to a statement posted on the official X handle of the commmand on Wednesday, the state Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, disclosed this at a press briefing held at the command’s headquarters on Tuesday.

Fayoade said that the suspects were arrested in different parts of the state between November 22, 2023, and January 13, 2024.

He added that items recovered from the suspects include 16 firearms, 72 live cartridges, 75 live ammunition, one expended cartridge, one pistol magazine, six axes, four daggers, one digger, five cutlasses, two vehicles, one POS Machine, fake registration plates, and charms.

Included in the report was the arrest of a group of suspected cultists who were apprehended on December 17, 2023 based on credible intelligence on the plan to retaliate their leader’s death on other rival cult members in the Ayobo area of the state.

The arrested persons include Quadri Mukail, Adedoyin Azeez, Olayinka Ayodele, Orefunwa Olamide, Olabode Idowu and Anuoluwapo Ojo.

Also, on January 13, 2024, two men, Ifeanyi Nwodo, 39, and Dainel Johnson, 32, were arrested for trying to set up their occultic shrine named ‘Indian Occultic Temple’ around Agunfoye area of Ikorodu with the intention of defrauding victims with the belief that the oracle has powers of making them rich and successful.

Several items including moulded human head, qmd crafted human effigies were found in their shrine.

In September 2023, the command paraded a fake Commissioner of Police for impersonation and unlawful possession of police warrant cards and police camouflage cap, among 12 others for various offences.