42 cultists arrested for terrorising Lagos neighbourhoods

The arrest of 42 suspected cult members in connection with a string of crimes in the state’s Ijora, Orile, Ebute Meta, and Ikorodu districts was verified by the Lagos State Police Command on Wednesday.

Idowu Owohunwa, the state’s commissioner of police, identified cultism as a crime that is evolving and poses a threat to the state’s internal security while presenting the suspects at the command center in the Ikeja district of the state.

“I laid out a new set of operational plans to confront the emerging threat,” he stated. I zoned the state, reorganized the special unit of the command, and, with the Inspector-General of Police’s assistance, we completely outfitted and provided a new orientation to the different special units.

“We deployed them to our Area Commands, outfitted them, and gave them orders to act at their best not merely to identify these cultists but to carry out intelligence-led operations so that the conflict would be brought to these so-called cultists’ doorsteps.

I am happy to report that, as of today, 42 suspected cultists have been detained as a result of operations conducted at Ijora, Orile, Ebute Meta, and Ikorodu during the course of the intelligence-led anti-cultism operations.

In the course of these operations, a total of 10 firearms of various types, including six locally made short guns, three locally made semi-automatic pistols, and one pistol made in England, three battle axes used in hacking down innocent bystanders or their rivals, three cutlasses, three daggers, three knives, 13 live cartridges, and a number of other weapons and tools were used.

According to Owohunwa, the command will deploy all operational resources and the leadership necessary for the special unit of the command to continue the fight against cultists determined to endanger the state’s internal security.

He said, “The command, under my watch, would forcefully deny them the room to function and jeopardize the calm that the average Lagosian so desperately wants.

The second goal is to reassure Lagosians that the fight to purge Lagos State of cultists and other criminals has begun, and we won’t give up until the state’s law and order has been restored.

Therefore, the cultists or other criminals operating under any pretense should regard this as a firm warning. They can choose to change for the better and choose a legal source of income, or they can face the law and the police in Lagos State.

The CP stated that a united front must be created in order to suppress cults throughout the state, while also requesting the assistance of the populace through information and cooperation.