From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta
At least 31 suspected cultists were on Monday paraded by the Ogun state Police Command while seven others were arrested for various offenses ranging from armed robbery, defilement and murder.
It was gathered that majority of the suspected cultists are students of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, FUNNAB while others are from Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta.
Parading the suspects at the Command’s headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, the State Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye explained that the students were arrested at a hotel in Obantoko area of the metropolis.
During the parade, a big banner with an inscription ‘National Association of Air lords, FUNNAB chapter, OAK nest, Determination Regime’ was displayed by some of the suspected cultists, while T shirts with EYE confraternity inscriptions and other paraphernalia were also displayed.
The Commissioner of Police explained that the suspects were arrested last Friday, after receiving an intelligence report that the cultists belonging to EYE confraternity were having an initiation ceremony in the area.
According to him, the detectives attached to Obantoko Division of the command swung into action and arrested the suspects at BOLIF Hotel, while they were initiating new members into the group.
A female suspect, Itunun Abiola, who claimed to be a student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, told journalists that she was wrongly arrested on her way to visit her cousins.
Speaking with journalists, one of the suspects, Oluwatobi Asekan, a 500-level student of Agric-Economics in FUNNAB confessed that he arranged the hotel for the suspects but added that he was not aware it was a cult party.
Okoye explained that the case was under investigation promising that those that might have been arrested wrongly in the process will be released while others will be charged to court.
Other suspects arrested with various offences included two suspects who were alleged to be notorious armed robbers, who were arrested in Idi-Aba area of the state capital after attacking a pastor, Rev Franklin Nkwusi Eyooyinbo of Foursquare Gospel Church.
