The Police Command in Edo has arrested 17 suspects for alleged involvement in armed robbery and being members of secret cults.
Presenting the suspects to newsmen in Benin on Friday, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, the Public Relations Officer of the command said the suspects were arrested in different locations in the Benin metropolis.
Nwabuzor said that two of them were arrested for snatching one Toyota Camry from a man along Aduwawa axis in the city.
These robbery suspects, the police spokesman said, had confessed to the crime, with a claim that they belonged to a four man gang of armed robbers.
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He said the suspects also identified one mechanic to be an accomplice, who helped them to dismantle stolen vehicles.
Nwabuzor, who noted that efforts were ongoing to arrest those at large, said some items and fire arms were recovered from the gang.
Similarly, the Police Public Relations Officer said 15 others were arrested in different locations in Benin for cultism.
“The Commissioner of Police, Abudu Yaro, actually promised to take the fight to criminals in the state and they should vacate the state.
“The enterprise in crime and criminality is no longer the same and today, as we gathered, we are showcasing suspects arrested by our crack teams and Anti-Cultism Unit.
“The team and the Anti-Cultism Unit while acting on distress calls and visibility patrol in Benin metropolis, arrested these suspects in different locations in the Benin metropolis,” he said.
According to the police spokesperson, the suspects confessed to be members of Eiye confraternity and Supreme Malphite secret cults.
He stated items and fire arms recovered from them included one pump action gun, one double barrel gun, one live cartridge, one face mask with N.A.A inscription of the cult group, one locally made pistol, charms and Ẹiyẹ cult flags, among others
Nosa Osayawe, a 24 year-old fashion designer, who was arrested for armed robbery, later explained to newsmen that one Solomon, now at large lured him into the operation.
Osayawe, however, said he regretted partaking in the crime, saying it was the first time of his involving in such.
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