SECURITY operatives in Ogun State have arrested a member of the state House Of Assembly, Damilare Bello Mohammed, and five others over the recent cult clash in Sagamu area of the state.
Clashes erupted at the weekend between rival cult groups in Sagamu, leading to the death of some residents.
Bello, representing Sagamu State Constituency (1), allegedly provided refuge for some fleeing cultists.
According to Lekan Adeniran, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, the State Security Service (SSS) arrested the suspects on Wednesday, September 20, at the official residence of the lawmaker.
Adeniran, in the statement, revealed that various deadly items, including guns, were found on the suspects and that they were being interrogated in SSS custody.
He stated that those arrested include Damilare Bello Mohammed, aka DRE, Adewale Otesanya, Bamidele Saheed, Ismaila Onitire, Debo Animashaun and Tobi Owoade.
In February 2023, Bello was arrested by the SSS for allegedly planning the violent demonstration that broke out in Sagamu when angry youths vandalised about ten banks and other public facilities in protest against the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) currency redesign policy.
Attempts to speak with the SSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, over the incident were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to messages sent to his phone.
Proffering a solution to the regular cult crisis in Sagamu, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Police, Muyiwa Adejobi, in his reaction to the cult incident on his X handle, said the situation in the town was beyond the deployment of an anti-cultism squad alone, saying all stakeholders must collaborate to tame the menace.
He recommended a multi-track diplomacy approach to tackling the crisis.
Adejobi urged the Ogun State Commissioner of Police to look inward and take action on the report by some residents that the cultists were well known to security agents.
He added that most of those causing trouble in the area were not from Sagamu.
A reporter with the ICIR
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