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Cult War: Delta CP Summons Senior Officers, Intensifies Manhunts Against Cultists
The Commissioner of Police in Delta State, Ari Mohammed Ali has summoned senior police heads in the state to an emergency meeting at the Police Headquarter Asaba, the state capital following the alarming rise in cultism and other nefarious social vices in the state.
BIGPENNGR reports that the commissioner of police met with some of the tactical commanders on Tuesday at his office in Asaba at the wake of the rising cult clashes in Asaba and its environs.
This is coming a day after suspected cultists reportedly shot dead one Sanchino, a former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Oshimili South chapter.
The meeting, is also coming at the backdrop of recent retaliatory attack by one of the cult groups resulting to the death of about six members of Black Axe confraternity including the killing of an Asaba-based Surveyor simply identified as Ifeanyi.
The said Ifeanyi was reportedly killed at a street opposite of Stephan Keshi stadium along the popular Nnebisi road, while another, a middle-aged man, was allegedly beheaded at the early hours of Tuesday.
His severed head was deposited at Otuogwu area in the metropolis while the body was said to have be recovered where it was staked behind Oshimili South Council Secretariat.
It was gathered that between Monday and Tuesday, about six persons have lost their lives to the renewed cult war in different locations in the state capital but acting Public Relations Officer of the state police command, DSP Edafe Bright confirmed only three persons died.
In an interview with BIGPENNGR over the renewed cult clashes at his office in Asaba, the State Commissioner of Police, Ali expressed determination to stamp out the rampaging cultists in the state.
He said that police are not resting on their oars to rid the state of cultism and all forms of criminality, stressing that there’s currently a manhunt for rampaging cultists and armed robbers.
He said that cases of cultism was on the rise in recent weeks because intels revealed both Black Axe confraternity (Aiye) and Vikings (Bukaneers) were at longer head for reason yet to be fathom.
Confirming the killing of the NULGE chairman, the police commissioner disclosed that so far two suspects have been arrested and helping the police in its investigation.
But while agreeing that cult activities are still palpable in some parts of the State, he assured Deltans that the command has been doing a lot to stamp out the unwholesome activities of the cultists.
“One very important point to note here is that Intel intercepted by my officers indicate that there is still serious supremacy fight on going between the Black Axe and Vikings confraternity and the result is what we are seeing on ground but however we are not resting in our oars neither are we sleeping”.
According to the police boss, “As a follow up to that, it may interest you to know that over the weekend we got intelligence about an initiations program that was organized somewhere around Ogwashi-Uku axis where youths numbering about 27 of them were being initiated into one of the cult groups”.
He said that men of the command who rose to the occasion, disrupted the initiation and arrested 27 of the suspected cultists, saying; “They went there and rounded all of them up. 27 of them were arrested and brought down here”.
He disclosed that senior officers were at his office for emergency meeting he summoned to iron out strategies to nip in the bud activities of cultists and armed bandits.
“If you observe round, senior officers are coming in. It is because we are working out strategies, if not to stamp them out totally, it will reduce the rate of their activities. That’s the meeting we are about to hold now (Tuesday evening). So to answer your question, the command is doing something seriously as far cult activities in Delta State is concerned. We may not be able to eradicate cultism in it’s totality but to a reasonable extent, I can assure you we will reduce their unwholesome activities to a manageable and tolerable level.
Speaking on how some police stations were invaded in the state in recent times, the police Chief said; “You know at wake of attacks on police station by the so-called IPOB and ESN resulting to attacks on three of our police stations – Nsukwa, Umutu and Ashaka respectively. First when that attack took place at Nsukwa, reasonably we suspected that the attackers came from our neighbouring state of Anambra State but after details investigation was carried out, facts revealed that the attackers were not in anyway connected to ESN or IPOB.
“They were cultists who went to attack Nsukwa just to liberate one of their own who was arrested in connection with a crime. For them to liberate that suspect, at the depth of the night precisely around 1:30- 2:am they decided to attack the station. They Killed an ASP and two Sergeants who were lawfully on their duties doing their legitimate work. Burn down the station, carted away two arms but it may interest you to know that the command didn’t rest there. Some of the attackers were arrested”.
He warned criminal elements to stay clear from the state, saying that no part of Delta would be a safe Haven for criminals to hibinate to perpetrate crime.
“For the criminals, let me warn them on a very serious term, on their own they should relocate because Delta State is not going to be that easy for anybody to come and habitate to commit any atrocity and I am happy to know that the command under my watch has not been resting on its oars in dealing with crime and criminalities.
“We will get hold of anyone who commits crime here. You cannot run away from us and that’s is why today in Delta State you will agree with me that crime rate has dropped significantly if not for three, four days ago when this cult activities started hitting up, Delta State has been very, very peaceful”.
He said that the last three months has been so peaceful because “there was a particular syndicate that was troubling Warri axis killing policemen and committing atrocities but since that syndicate was busted and some of them fatally wounded, Warri became very peaceful. Same goes to Asaba as well but the set of cultists that are doing this, I want to assure you that very, very soon we will bring them here and put them before the press”.
He, however called on Deltans to partner with the police in the fight against crime by availing police personnel useful information that would lead to the arrest of criminals and rid the state of all forms of crimes in the spirit of community policing.
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