Operatives of the Ogun state police command have arrested three suspected cultists in Ijebu-Ode area of the state. The suspects, Odukoya Odushina, Subomi Popoola and Itunuoluwa Taiwo, were linked to several cult killings in Ijebu-Ode and its environment.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command SP Abimbola Oyeyemi who confirmed this to journalists in Abeokuta yesterday, identified them as the leading members of the dreaded Eiye confraternity who have been terrorising Ijebu Ode.
Oyeyemi said the suspects were arrested following a tip-off received at the Obalende Police divisional headquarters Ijebu Ode, on activities of the suspects. The PPRO explained that, the police were informed that members of the gang were “holding nocturnal meeting at a black spot known as Sanga at the back of Central Mosque, with the plan to unleash terror on members of the community.” He said operatives of the command, from the Obalende division, immediately stormed the black spot.
“On sighting the policemen, the hoodlums attacked them with dangerous weapons, but they were subdued and the ring leader Odukoya Odushina a.k.a Odus who is the number 1 Eiye confraternity, Subomi Popoola a.k.a Oyan and Itunuoluwa Taiwo were apprehended.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested suspects were not only into cultism, they were into armed robbery as well,” he said. He explained further the command discovered that the first suspect had been arrested and charged to court, but was granted bail.
Oyeyemi said three days after the bail, “he (Odushina) went with his gang to rob the Ayegbami area of Ijebu – Ode where he killed one man simply known as Baba Njo.” He said some items such as jewellery, phones and suspected hard drugs were recovered from them.
The Police Spokesman quoted the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, to have ordered a full scale investigation into their activities as well as “a massive manhunt for other members of the group with the view to charging them to court as soon as possible.”