Cult War: 9 Feared Dead In 3 Weeks, Police Arrest 37 Suspects

No fewer than nine persons have been said to have lost their lives following the renewed clashes between cult gangs in some state owned polytechnics across Delta State. The rebuilding tension, said to be as a result of territorial tussle, has sent many students of the institutions back home, in fear for their lives.

LEADERSHIP Friday reliably gathered in the three functional polytechnics (names withheld), cult groups with claiming to be the Ake, Black Arrow, Eiye and Black Axe confraternities have held caused an air of uncertainty to hang over the campuses, as it is believed that this is a period when they perform their initiation rites.

In response, the police, within the last few months, have arrested over 37 suspected members of these deadly cults.

Speaking to journalists in Asaba, the police spokesman in the state, ASP Lucky Uyabeme, disclosed that besides the male members, female(s) between ages 21 and 23 are also members, and that upon interrogation, many of them confessed to have committed to be initiated for “self-protection”.

Informed sources revealed that the cult members, armed with sophisticated weapons, raid the campuses to “avenge” their members who were either “dealt with” by lecturers or rival cult groups.

But Uyabeme promised that it will no longer be business as usual for them, stressing that the state police command is determined to eradicate all form of crimes and has mapped out strategies with plain clothes detectives positioned at various higher institutions of learning across the state.

In Asaba, reports say that cult group members in one of the polytechnics around Ogwashi-uku, shout themselves down after shooting sporadically in the air to scare passers-by and, in most cases, beat-up unsuspecting intruders.

Source: Leadership