Delta Police Arrest 16 Suspected Cultists, Recover Firearms, Ammunition in Sapele, Ika North East

By Chukwunonso Eric, Warri.

The Delta State Police Command has intensified its offensive against cultism and violent crime with the arrest of 16 suspected cultists and the recovery of firearms, ammunition, and other incriminating exhibits during separate intelligence-led operations in Sapele and Ika North East Local Government Areas of the state.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), acting on credible intelligence, stormed a suspected criminal hideout in Amukpe, Sapele, at about 2:00 a.m. on July 17, arresting eight suspected members of the Aiye Confraternity. The suspects were identified as Lucky Naset, Ochuko Midwest, Samuel Oghene, Michael Mmadu, Dennis Philip, Goodluck Onujenya, Ovie Royal, and Divine Otemu. A search of the hideout led to the recovery of three locally fabricated pistols, six live cartridges, eight rounds of live ammunition of different calibres, two axes, two suspected cannabis grinders, a bottle containing a suspected illicit substance, and other exhibits. Police said preliminary investigations linked the suspects to cult-related activities within the Sapele axis, while efforts are ongoing to arrest other members of the syndicate and recover additional weapons.

In a separate operation conducted later the same day, police operatives arrested another eight suspects in connection with an alleged cult-related attack on a resident of Illabor Community in Ika North East Local Government Area. The suspects, identified as Ifeanyi Emeka, Hope Sunday, Francis Onyechiwalla, and Chinedu Joseph, were alleged to have attacked the victim with a cut-to-size gun. During preliminary interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed to being members of the Eiye Confraternity. They remain in police custody as investigations continue to establish their involvement in other cult-related crimes and to track down additional members of the criminal network.

Reacting to the successful operations, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, Yemi Oyeniyi, commended the operatives for their professionalism and reaffirmed the Command’s resolve to dismantle criminal gangs and eradicate cultism across the state. He appealed to residents to continue supporting the police with credible and timely information, assuring the public that intelligence-led operations would be sustained to guarantee the safety and security of lives and property throughout Delta State.