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Edo Police To Crack Down On Cultists

 By Jefferson Ibiwale, Benin 

‎Reacting to cult – related killings which have claimed several lives in the past few weeks, the police in Edo State has read the riot act to cultists, threatening to arrest and prosecute them.

The commissioner of police in Edo State, Foluso Adebayo, who stated this in ‎Benin on Friday while parading 81 suspects arrested in different parts of the state, expressed concern over the activities of cultists in the state.

As a measure of stopping rivalry among the cults which has resulted in the deaths, Adebayo said that the police would arrest the leaders of the cult in the state and charge them for involvement in the killings of the last few weeks.

“All the heads of these cult groups will be arrested and charged to court for accessory. These senseless killings must stop,” he said.

‎He said further: “We have arrested over forty suspected cultists. The worrisome thing is the issue of reprisal killings and the command is not going to take it lightly. They are going to be charged for attempted murder and various crimes related to murder.”

The commissioner disclosed that five persons have so far been killed in cult – related clashed in the past few weeks and appealed on residents of the state to join hands with the police command to deal with the problem.

Adebayo also had a stern word for parents as he advised them to “talk to their children because any one arrested will go in for it. These ones who were arrested will be charged for murder at the court.”



Forty suspected cultists allegedly involved in the recent killings in the state were among the 81 persons paraded by the police.

Others included people suspected of armed robbers, rape and murder. Among those paraded is 41 year-old Festus Aimufua who allegedly murdered his Austria-based friend named Rose on Christmas day.‎




     

     

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    Speaking to journalists, Aimufua, a father of three, denied killing Rose intentionally, saying that it was an accident.

    “As I was about leaving, I saw her in front of my vehicle but two other boys were dragging her off the vehicle. So, I was looking for a way to move. I thought I found a way; that was how I zoomed off.”

    Among the suspects was a 90 year-old man, Osunde Andrew, who was accused of defiling an 11 year-old girl.

    The police said it recovered some Items from the suspects including 19 vehicles and dangerous weapons like 15 locally made guns, one AK47 rifle, 38 toy pistols and seven live ammunition.
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