Police arrest 16 suspected cultists in Ilorin

The Police Command in Kwara said it arrested 16 suspected cultists, members of rival Aiye and Eiye confraternities, on a revenge mission between at Oko-Olowo area of Ilorin, Kwara.

The state Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Bagega, stated this while briefing newsmen in Ilorin on Thursday.

Bagega said the command engaged proactive intelligence, a tool of community policing, which led to the arrest of the suspects.

He explained that the anti-kidnapping and anti-cultists teams of the command, in collaboration with vigilante groups, stormed Oko-Olowo area and arrested the suspects.

The suspects, he said, included four females and 12 males who confessed to be members of Aiye and Eiye confraternities.

The Police boss added that the operatives of the command were able to recover dangerous weapons such as guns, machetes, axe, charms and large wraps of weed suspected to be hemp.

He reiterated that the command would collaborate with the relevant agencies to bring crime and criminality to the barest minimum in the state.

In another development, the commissioner said the command raided a criminal hide-out in Moro local government area of the state and recovered six pieces of locally fabricated guns.

The commissioner further said efforts were on to arrest the criminals.

He urged the people to volunteer useful information to the police, adding that fighting criminals required joint efforts.