No fewer than five suspected members of the Aiye and Alora Confraternities have been arrested in the Sagamu and Sango-Ota areas of Ogun State through multiple raids conducted by men of the state police command and the Ogun State Community, Social Orientation and Safety Corps.
A police source, in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Sunday, said the suspects were planning to unleash terror on the residents of the communities before they were arrested on Friday and Saturday.
Our correspondent learnt that the residents of the Ntanbo Ijoko area of the state had been thrown into palpable fear after they received intelligence that the community might be attacked by suspected cultists on Saturday.
Following the intelligence provided by some members of the community, PUNCH Metro learnt that the police in the division and members of the Communities, Social Orientation, and Safety Corps swung into action and began patrolling the area.
During the joint patrol of the security agencies, our correspondent learnt that a suspect, Richard Edet, who resides in the Shasha area of Lagos State, was arrested while others fled into the bush.
Also, the police in the division had earlier received similar intelligence that some secret confraternity members were planning to hold their meeting at an undisclosed location within the area on Friday.
Following this intelligence, the men of the police force in the division began combing and patrolling operations in the suspected areas, leading to the arrest of four suspected members of the Aiye Confraternity.
According to the police source, Ahmed Oguntoyinbo, Sikiru Komolafe, and Abiola Alashebi, suspected to be residents of Ifo Local Government, were all arrested in Sagamu on Friday.
It was learnt that the four suspects had confessed to the crime and that they would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department after a preliminary investigation was concluded.
Similarly, in the Sakura area of Sagamu, one suspected cultist, 25-year-old Olatunji Azeez, was arrested by the men of the police division in a raid that was led by one Ojo Agunloye.
Police said Azeez had just relocated from Ijebu-Ode to Sagamu before he was arrested on Friday, adding that he had confessed to being a member of the Alora Confraternity and would be transferred to the anti-tactical team for a discreet investigation.
Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the multiple raids and the arrest to our correspondent on Sunday, noted that all the suspects would be prosecuted after the investigation.
“We will continue to carry out routine raids to ensure that all the communities in Ogun State are safe. The police, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, will not allow any community in the state to be a safe haven for cultists,” she added via WhatsApp message.
