Police arrest 37 cultists in Anambra

The police have arrested 15 cultists at a wake keep and 22 others at an initiation ground in Ajali, Orumba North council Area of Anambra State. The suspects were said to have robbed, extorted and assaulted unsuspecting members of the public under the cover of mourning late Amaechi Onwe, brother to their member, Christian Onwe, […]

The police have arrested 15 cultists at a wake keep and 22 others at an initiation ground in Ajali, Orumba North council Area of Anambra State.

The suspects were said to have robbed, extorted and assaulted unsuspecting members of the public under the cover of mourning late Amaechi Onwe, brother to their member, Christian Onwe, at a wake-keep in Awada, Onitsha suburb of the state.

Commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the state police command, Christopher Bassey, disclosed this to newsmen at Enugu -Ukwu.

He said the cultists, who were of the Junior Vikings Confraternity, with one member of Baga confraternity, shot into the air as they robbed their victims.

He said the suspects were nabbed with the combined efforts of the SPACS and the Awada Police led by the DPO, Babalola Adewuyi, and would soon be arraigned in court.

“Initially, we arrested 37 of them but after differentiating the wheat from the chaff, we found out that the cultists were 15 and had to release others that were not members.

“Those arrested confessed that they were members of Junior Vikings Confraternity. The member of the gang that was shooting into the air escaped and is now at large” he added.

He listed the items recovered from them to include axes, cutlasses and regalia, adding that their leaders who came from other states to initiate them escaped before the arrival of police.