The Oyo State Police Command has arrested 11 students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, over alleged cult-related activities and recovered firearms, ammunition and other dangerous weapons.
According to The Punch, the arrests followed credible intelligence that suspected members of the Eiye Confraternity were planning coordinated attacks within the university community.
The Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Olayinka Ayanlade, said operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit stormed the suspects’ hideouts in the Under-G, Yuako and Adenike areas, where they were allegedly finalising plans for the attacks.
“Acting on credible intelligence received by the command, operatives of the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit were deployed after it was established that members of the dreaded Eiye Confraternity had converged at their hideout… where they were allegedly perfecting plans to launch coordinated attacks within the student community capable of causing widespread unrest,” Ayanlade said.
He said the operation led to the arrest of 11 male suspects and the recovery of four locally fabricated cut-to-size pistols, 11 live cartridges, one expended cartridge, two cult axes, one cutlass, one dagger and a red cult hooded cap.
The police identified the suspects as Adedapo Victor, alleged leader of the group; Taiwo Rasheed, alleged second-in-command; Emeka Issac; Akande Segundo; Akande Julius; Stephen Opeyemi; Fortune Abel; Oluwatunmise Ayodeji; Adigun Oladimeji; Akande Moses; and Karim Kalid.
According to Ayanlade, preliminary investigations revealed that all 11 suspects are students of LAUTECH and that they allegedly confessed to being members of the Eiye Confraternity. He added that investigations also linked them to other cult-related crimes, including murder.
The Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, commended the operatives for foiling what could have escalated into violent attacks within the student community and assured residents that efforts were ongoing to arrest other fleeing members of the group.
The command said the suspects would be charged in court after investigations are concluded and urged members of the public to continue providing credible information to support the fight against cultism and other violent crimes.
