The Lagos State Police Command has successfully disrupted a secret cult initiation ceremony in the Egbeda area of Lagos, arresting four suspected cultists during a tactical midnight operation.
The high-stakes raid also led to the recovery of several firearms, live ammunition, and an assortment of dangerous weapons intended for criminal use.
According to an official statement released on Thursday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, the suspects are heavily linked to a series of cult-related violent outbreaks and other criminal activities within the Alimosho local government area and its surrounding communities.
Police officially identified the detained suspects as 34-year-old Nurudeen Ganiu, 38-year-old Oluwaleke Fagbula, 41-year-old Emmanuel Silas, and 41-year-old Nurudeen Abdullahi.
The breakthrough came after police operatives received actionable and credible intelligence regarding a gathering of individuals planning an initiation ritual under the cover of darkness in Egbeda.
Armed with this information, a stealth team launched a swift, covert operation that caught the suspects completely off guard, leading to their immediate arrest at the scene.
During a thorough search of the location, officers recovered a locally made cut-to-size pistol, an English Beretta pistol loaded with 10 live cartridges, and a jackknife.
Deepening investigations revealed that one of the suspects is an alleged ringleader of the gang and a former university student who was rusticated from an institution in Ogun State back in 2022 due to his involvement in cult activities.
Security reports indicate that the criminal gang has been actively involved in thuggery, routinely terrorizing local residents and disrupting the peace in Egbeda and neighboring areas for quite some time.
“The suspects reportedly confessed to being active members of the Eiye Confraternity, a notorious secret cult group,” the police statement confirmed.
The gang reportedly utilized motorcycles to maintain mobility, using them to launch surprise ambushes on unsuspecting residents and rob social gatherings at gunpoint.
Commending the breakthrough, the Commissioner of Police for the Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, praised his officers for their high level of professionalism and the rapid response that guaranteed the success of the raid.
Reassuring the public, the police boss emphasized that the command remains relentlessly committed to eradicating cultism and neutralizing violent crimes across every corner of Lagos State.
He ultimately urged citizens to stay vigilant and maintain a strong partnership with law enforcement by feeding security agencies with timely, credible information through the command’s designated emergency hotlines.
