Seven suspected members of the Aiye Confraternity, wanted for various cult-related crimes in the Ijebu-Ode area of Ogun State, have been arrested by the state police command.
TheNigerian Metro learnt on Monday that operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team arrested the suspects on Thursday during a sting operation.
The command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, revealed to our correspondent that the suspected cultists, along with other urchins, were notorious for involvement in illegal drug activities, robbery, and housebreaking.
The arrested suspects are identified as Balogun Ibrahim, Towolawi Omotayo, Oshodi Oluwaseun, Nkechi John, Mustapha Aliu, Opeyemi Rasheed, and Mustapha Sikiru.
Odutola said, “The SWAT team received intelligence that members of the Aiye Confraternity, also known as the Black Axe cult group, who had been on their watchlist for a long time, were spotted along Ogbo on Ijebu-Ode Road.
“Acting on this information, the SWAT team was dispatched for action, leading to the arrest of seven suspects. A search revealed exhibits including a cut-to-size, locally made, single-barrel gun, seven live cartridges, and a handheld axe.”
She added that the arrested members of the confraternity are being investigated to identify and apprehend other suspects in the area.
In a similar incident reported by TheNigerian Metro in November, gunmen suspected to be cultists fatally shot Mutiu Akinbami, a former councillor of Abeokuta North Local Government Area, near Brewery in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Akinbami, popularly known as Egor, was reportedly shot in the head while riding a motorcycle with his son.
Similarly, in August, suspected cult members killed a 48-year-old PoS operator, Fatai Kehinde, under the Kuto Bridge in Abeokuta.
Kehinde, popularly known as Faithy and the son of the Baale of Kuto Community in Abeokuta, was reportedly chased by the assailants from his shop in Kuto Market to the area beneath the bridge, where he was killed.
