How 2 cult leaders were arrested in Ikorodu
Facts have emerged on how the Lagos police were able to arrest two wanted suspected cult gang leaders after months of painstaking investigation. The suspects, Emmanuel Chinonso, 21, and Thomas Israel, 20, were trailed to their hideout at Igbalu, Ikorodu, Lagos State, following a tip-off from informants in early September this year. A police source […]
Suspected cult leaders, Emmanuel (left) and Israel, after their arrest by the police in Lagos
Facts have emerged on how the Lagos police were able to arrest two wanted suspected cult gang leaders after months of painstaking investigation.
The suspects, Emmanuel Chinonso, 21, and Thomas Israel, 20, were trailed to their hideout at Igbalu, Ikorodu, Lagos State, following a tip-off from informants in early September this year.
A police source said that the suspects, described as leaders of a deadly secret cult group in Lagos, Eiye confraternity, fled to Igbalu to hide in their girlfriends’ residence when they learnt of police manhunt after a violent attack they had staged at Imota, also in Ikorodu, which claimed the life of a member of a rival cult group, Aiye, in July 2019.
The police said that the suspects immediately changed their SIM cards to avoid being tracked by the detectives.
Our correspondent learnt from one of the policemen who effected the arrest that luck ran out on the suspected cult leaders when the team trailed one of their lady friends to a drinking bar in Igbalu.
“It is the lady who gave the team information about the whereabouts of the two suspects,” the source said.
The police team then laid a siege to the hideout until September 6 when Chinonso attempted to sneak out from there and was promptly arrested. His arrest led to the arrest of Israel, it was gathered.
The Lagos State police spokesman, Bala Elkana, confirmed details of the arrest, adding that items recovered from the suspects included two battle axes, a knife and one beret which was part of the costume of the Eiye cult group.
“The suspects confessed that they were key leaders of the Eiye Confraternity and that their gang was responsible for series of violent attacks recorded in Imota, Ikorodu,” he added.