Reign of terror as serial killings, cult activities hit Akure

• 10 suspected cult members killed

 • Residents, youth groups decry rising death toll

• Police parade FUTO students, 30 others for alleged 
armed robbery, kidnapping

More than 10 lives have been lost since Sunday in 
Akure, the capital of Ondo State, over recurrent clashes 
and reprisal attacks by suspected cult groups. The latest of the attacks was the gruesome murder of a young man, suspected to be a cult member at NEPA area around 10p.m. on Monday, increasing the death toll to 10.

The Guardian gathered that the clashes had been 
between the notorious Eiye Confraternity and Aiye Confraternity members, who were bent on reprisal
 attacks to settle scores among themselves.

An eyewitness, who spoke with our correspondent on the
condition of anonymity, said he heard a salvo of gunshots 
and everybody scampered to safety. It was when they returned to the scene they met the victim in his pool of 
blood.

“This is becoming too rampant. A guy was killed at 
Obanla few days ago, while another one met his untimely death yesterday (Monday) at Roadblock Area,” he said.
 Other people, who spoke with our correspondent expressed fears over the resurgence of cult-related killings.

Another resident said: “What the police are doing is to
 wait for the killings to happen and they start raiding. In the last two days, they have arrested more than 100 people.

“They were at Odopetu and Tipper Garage. I think they 
are using the development to make money for
 themselves, running after Yahoo boys to extort 
money from them,” he said.

President of Akure Youth Coalition (AYC), Mr. Tuyi 
Adekambi, lamented that community leaders and police authorities had turned deaf ears to their warnings 
concerning the menace.

“The activities of these cult rivalries have now graduated 
from night attacks and killings to broad daylight operation.

There is pandemonium in every part of Akure. They not 
only kill and maim their targets, but dispossess citizens of their belonging whenever they struck.”

Similarly, the coordinator of Youth Assembly of
 Nigeria (YAN), Ondo State chapter, Mr. Adeyelu Oluwadamilare, decried the unabated cult activities. 
He urged the governor to step up measures at nipping the killings and cult-related activities in the bud.

Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer 
(PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph, who confirmed the incident, 
noted that the command had mobilised a contingent of its personnel to curtail the crisis.

According to him, the police promptly kicked off 
investigations into the unrest, which had led to the arrest 
of more than 20 suspects nabbed mainly for cultism,
 robbery, burglary, kidnapping and other related crimes.

Joseph assured Akure residents to remain calm and 
continue with their day-to-day activities without panicking, adding that the culprits would be prosecuted according 
to the law.

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Chris Okey 
Ezike, has paraded three students of the Federal University 
of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), for alleged armed robbery and cult-related offences.

No fewer than 30 others were also paraded for alleged 
cases ranging from kidnapping, stealing and armed robbery
 at the command’s headquarters in Owerri, capital city of 
Imo State, on Tuesday. Six cars and several arms and ammunition were recovers from the suspects.

He gave the names of the FUTO students as Igboerika 
Ifeanyi Paul, 23; Obodo John Ifeanyi, 23; and Agumadu Tochukwu, 19, alleging that they robbed one, O. N. Felix, 
of the same institution, at Eziobodo hostel, of a laptop and other electrical accessories, after attacking him with an axe and other dangerous weapons.

Items recovered from them included laptop, one axe,
 20 SIM cards from different networks, two hammers  
and four black axes. Ezike said the effort of the anti-cult
 unit of his command yielded results in apprehending the suspects, disclosing that the new approach adopted by his command such as ‘operation identification, arrest, detention and prosecution of suspected armed robbers, kidnappers, cultists and other notorious criminals; and profiling of communities, organizations/hotels, have yielded fruits.

He also disclosed that other measures, such as 
forensic technology in investigation and detection 
had been helpful in tracking suspected criminals in the 27 local councils of the state.

Exike said Akachukwu Agu, China Agujuo, Tochukwu 
China and Desmond Aka were among the suspects who recently abducted Rev. Fr. Charles Nwachukwu in the state. He regretted that some of the abducted victims were killed and others yet to be seen.