An Abuja-based rights lawyer, Ugochukwu Ezekiel, who had lent a voice to the call for Pa Egbunuche’s release, yesterday asked the government not to abandon the man but instead, he should be fully rehabilitated.
Varsity students,16 others arrested for cultism in Abia
Six persons, who claimed to be students of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudika in Abia State, and16 others have been arrested by the Abia State Police Command for cultism.
Speaking on the arrests of the suspects in his office at Umuahia, the state capital, Commissioner of Police, Ene Okon, said on June 2, 2019 at about 2am, men of the Commissioner of Police Crack Squad Umuahia, acting on a tip-off, while on Operation Puff Adder, arrested the 22 suspected members of NEO Black Movement of Africa, aka AYIES, in a bush at Umuhutte, Ahiaeke Ibeku in Umuahia North Local Government Area.
Okon said the suspects, consisting of university undergraduates, secondary school leavers/dropouts and artisans, confessed that they were carrying out the initiation of their new members into the cult group when they were arrested.
He said the arrests were made possible as a result of the new vigour to fighting crime according to what is enshrined in the concept of Operation Puff Adder of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Adamu Mohammad.
According to him, “since we started the operation, we’ve been relying on intelligence. We had intelligence report that a particular cult group has been terrorizing that area for a long time and that they are likely to have the initiation of members. The CP’s crack squad swung into action and caught them in the act. They were conducting initiation and 22 of them were arrested with their initiation materials.
“By the time the police swooped on them, they threw their guns and cartridges into the bush. Then early in the morning, while combing the scene, six expended cartridges and a damaged locally made shotgun were recovered by the police.
“The suspects are giving a lead that would aid in the arrest of their fleeing members.”
While advising parents to monitor the activities of their children, Okon said the 22 suspects would be arraigned in court at the conclusion of investigations.
Items recovered by the police during arrest of the suspects include four red candles, 24 white candles, two native kola nuts, some bitter-kola nuts, half cut calabash, samba drum and a ten-liter gallon containing mixed substances suspected to be blood.
Okon said with the recent arrests, the command, in the past three months, has nabbed 23 kidnap suspects, 33 for suspected robbery, 49 suspected cultists while 15 kidnapped victims were rescued.
He said the command equally recovered 21 firearms, 21 cartridges and nine vehicles stolen from their owners.
Abel, 24, from Ehamufu in Enugu State, and who claimed to be a 400 level student of the department of Micro Biology, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and alleged leader of the group said police caught them when they went for cultism initiation.
Abel, who claimed he was to graduate from the university this year, pleaded with the police to have mercy on them as he blamed the devil for luring them into the act.
