Five suspected cultists have been arrested at the Kogi State Polytechnic, the school’s management said on Wednesday.
The suspects were nabbed on Tuesday during the ongoing second semester examination for the 2023/2024 academic session.
Disclosing this in a statement, the polytechnic’s spokesman, Uredo Omale, said three students of the institution were also apprehended by the school’s security team, for allegedly peddling hard drugs among other offences.
He identified the suspects as HND II students in the Department of Business Administration, giving their details as Ajayi Oluwaseun Oladipo (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/275), Isenre Elijah Ayomide (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/146) and Omonijo Sunday (Matric. No2022/HND/BUS/181).
“The arrested five (5) non-students who are all from Ekiti State but based in Abuja are Otitoju Christopher, Babatope Ayomide, Isaiah Babatunde, Shina Ayodeji, and Makinde Olalekan,” the statement read.
“The arrest of the suspects was a result of proactive measures put in place by the Management of the institution to checkmate infiltration of cultists and other outlawed groups and individuals who were reported to be planning to enter the campus with guns and other dangerous weapons in connivance with some cyber-crime suspects popularly known as yahoo.
“Their intent, it was gathered, was to cause harm to their targets and commotion on the campus during the ongoing second-semester examination.”
See the full statement below:
KOGI POLY SECURITY TEAM APPREHENDS SUSPECTED CULTISTS, DRUG PEDDLERS DURING ONGOING SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATION
— HANDS OVER SUSPECTS TO THE POLICE
The joint security team of Kogi State Polytechnic Lokoja, on Tuesday, 16th July, 2024, arrested three (3) students of the institution and five (5) others suspected to be members of secret society and hard drug peddlers during the ongoing second-semester examination for 2023/2024 academic session.
The apprehended students who are all of HND II in the Department of Business Administration include:
Ajayi Oluwaseun Oladipo (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/275), Isenre Elijah Ayomide (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/146) and Omonijo Sunday (Matric. No2022/HND/BUS/181).
The arrested five (5) non-students who are all from Ekiti State but based in Abuja are: Otitoju Christopher, Babatope Ayomide, Isaiah Babatunde, Shina Ayodeji and Makinde Olalekan.
The arrest of the suspects was as a result of proactive measures put in place by the Management of the institution to checkmate infiltration of cultists and other outlawed groups and individuals who were reported to be planning to enter the campus with guns and other dangerous weapons in connivance with some cyber-crime suspects popularly known as yahoo.
Their intent, it was gathered, was to cause harms to their targets and commotion on the campus during the ongoing second-semester examination.
This was in the guise of their end-of-examination graduation “celebration” rituals which the Management had earlier banned due to security concerns.
In the build-up to the ongoing second-semester examination, the Polytechnic Management got intelligence reports that some bad elements suspected to be into cybercrime, cultism and illicit drugs had perfected a plan to import their members from other states and institutions to cause mayhem on the campus.
To prevent the occurrence, Management decided to intensify further security strategies by banning all forms of the end-of-the second-semester examination on the campus in whatever guise.
This decision was duly communicated to the students through a circular issued by the Chief Security Officer, containing the outlawed activities during and after the examination.
The circular was issued after a series of meetings with the Students Union Government (SUG), the National Association of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS) and the Departmental Presidents to sensitise and caution the students to desist from any form of inimical behaviour during the examination for their own good.
The Polytechnic Management also took further steps with meetings and setting up of the Examination Security Management Committee with all Deans, Chief Security Officer (CSO), Students Representatives, the Chief Imam and the Polytechnic Chaplain as members, and mandated to devise security strategies against the planned infiltration by bad elements and ensure orderly conduct of examination.
In addition, the services of the security agencies such as the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), and the Vigilante Group were sought and their personnel were deployed.
One important additional proactive security strategy adopted by the Committee was to prevent students from using their cars and motorcycles beyond the designated car park on the campus during the examination.
Furthermore, all vehicles were thoroughly searched and more plain clothes security operatives were deployed to monitor movement of those that have no business on the campus during the examination.
These security strategies and efforts paid off with the arrest of the three (3) students and their five (5) imported non – students mercenaries .
The Polytechnic Management started observing a dangerous sign on Monday 15th July, 2024 when the Department of Public Administration HND II students wrote their last paper.
The Management got an intelligence report of the infiltration of some notorious old students of 2018/2019 sets who are suspected to be cultists alongside some imported mercenaries from Edo and Delta states that came that day to cause mayhem using the style of motorcade, spraying of naira notes while seating on their vehicles on the highway.
In the process, there were gunshots from the direction of “Always Petrol station” adjacent the Polytechnic main gate where the imported mercenaries were allegedly camped since the campus was not comfortable for them because of the security measures put in place.
To prevent a repeat of the Monday incident, more security strategies were deployed ahead of Tuesday 16th July, 2024, when the HND II students from the Department of Accountancy, Library and Information Sciences as well as the Business Administration were scheduled to write their final papers.
It was the security arrangement and tip-off that led to the arrest of the three (3) students and their hired mercenaries who claimed to hail from Ekiti State, but based in Abuja.
The suspects were intercepted at the main entrance of the Polytechnic gate while on their motorcade. The driver of the second car, however, jumped out of the vehicle and escaped.
Some suspected hard drugs wrapped in a polythene bag, papers cut to sizes supposedly for wrapping of drugs and one beret cap with a symbol suspected to be that of a cult group were seen in the car and in possession of the occupants of the two (2) intercepted cars.
In all, the items recovered from the apprehended suspects include two cars (2); a light green coloured Mercedes Benz Saloon with Reg. Number: EKITI STATE “MUE – 598 – AE” and a black coloured Toyota Lexus Saloon with Reg. Number from: EBONYI STATE “SKA – 78 – AE”,different types of drugs, remnant of some naira notes amounting to N14000 naira, beret cap with a symbol suspected to be that of a cult and an MP3 player were handed over to the Nigeria Police at the ‘B’ Division in Lokoja.
Prior to the coming on board of the current leadership of the institution under Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman, the Polytechnic was notorious for cult parades at the end of every session, and with cult groups demonstrating their might through gun shots and killing of marked targets to the extent that the past Management, Lecturers and other staff used to abandon the campus for fear of their lives as cultists operated unchallenged during such period.
Within such past period, a Lecturer was stabbed and killed on the campus of the Polytechnic.
All those social vices and unacceptable conduct have stopped in Kogi State Polytechnic in the last four (4) years that the current Rector came on board.
The Rector and his Management team constantly adopted a proactive approach in tackling security challenges effectively.
Evidently, the notorious elements that were hitherto operating like demigods on the campus have been chased away.
The Rector commended the efforts of the Examination Security Management Committee, the Joint Security team and the Intelligence Team for a job well-done through teamwork for nipping the dangerous intent in the bud.
The Rector also used the opportunity to admonish the ND II students to be vigilant of any bad elements that may infilterate into their group and report same to the Management through the Security Unit.
The Rector further advised parents and guardians to caution their children and wards by paying close attention to their behaviours and material acquisition without known sources of income, the type of companies they keep as well as their movement against involvement in criminal activities as those who are caught within the spheres of the Polytechnic with untoward characters would not be spared.
He also warned non-students who are interested in coming to the campus for cult and other related social vices to keep off or face the full wrath of the law.
Uredo Omale
Director, Public Relations and Protocol.
Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.