Eric Patrick
The Edo State Police Command has arrested 28 suspects involved in cult-related activities across the state.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
According to him, the arrests were made during a raid on criminal hideouts.
Yamu noted that following thorough screening, 19 of the suspects were found culpable and subsequently charged to court.
He further revealed that three of the suspects confessed to being members of cult groups and have already been arraigned.
The statement read, “The Edo State Command has sustained its fight against crime through visibility policing, community engagements, and sustained raids of criminal hideouts in the State.
“On 4/6/2025 between 16:00 hours and 22:00 hours, operatives of the Command carried out raids of criminal hideouts within Benin City.
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“During the raids, twenty-eight (28) persons were arrested and professionally screened where nineteen (19) of them found implicated, were charged to court.
“In continuation of its fight against cultism, the command has commenced the house-to-house arrests of identified cult members in the state to ensure that cultism is either eliminated or brought to its barest minimum.
“Three suspects who were arrested from various locations have confessed to being members of the Eiye and Aye confraternities respectively. They have been arraigned before the court accordingly.”
Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, in the statement expressed confidence that the public would feel more secure as a result of the command’s efforts.
He further warned known cultists to either renounce cultism, leave the state, or face the full consequences of the law under the Edo State Secret Cult and Other Related Activities Prohibition Law.