Thirty suspected cultists were detained by the Edo State Police Command on Thursday after several raids conducted throughout Benin, the state’s capital.
Police Public Relations Officer Chidi Nwabuzor said during the parade of the suspects at State Force Headquarters that the suspects, who were made up of 23 men and 7 women, belonged to a number of cult organizations that have been terrorizing the city.
According to Nwabuzor, the arrest occurred after Abutu Yaro, the commissioner of police, gave the operatives instructions to purge the state of cultists and other criminal elements.
He said: “The police operatives of Anti-cultism Unit of the Edo State Police Command, conducted raid exercise in different parts of the state in criminal hideouts and black spots and arrested 23 males and seven females and brought them to the station.
“This serves as a warning to other criminals in the state either to repent or relocate. This exercise is a continuous one to ensure that the state is rid of criminal elements,” he added.
The suspects have made confessional admissions, according to Nwabuzor, and when the inquiry is through, they will be charged in court.
