The Enugu State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has arraigned in court 26 persons suspected to be involved in the cult clashes in the state which claimed several lives in the last two weeks.
SaharaReporters reported earlier this week that no fewer than 14 persons were reported killed in a cult war between members of the cult groups.
SaharaReporters also reliably gathered that the cult clashes were still going on in the university town of Nsukka, Emene, Abakpa and Garrik areas of the state and had claimed no fewer than 30 lives as of last Friday.
However, the State Police Command in a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, said the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, ordered Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and heads of Tactical Teams of the state command to use all the operational and intelligence resources at their disposal to further clamp down on the criminal elements and bring them to justice.
Ndukwe said that 26 male suspects between the ages of 18 and 40 years had been arrested at different locations in the State, by Operatives of the Command’s Anti-cultism Squad.
According to him, the suspects, all linked to the crime, confessed to being members of the cult groups that were respectively involved in the cult war.
According to the statement, “Preliminary investigations reveal that some members of Black Axe confraternity, on 29/03/2023 at about 2230 hrs, conspired, shot and injured a member of Supreme Vikings confraternity in the arm, at Emene, Enugu.
“On receipt of the information, members of Supreme Vikings confraternity, in solidarity with their murdered member, conspired and declared war against members of Black Axe confraternity, which has led to counter and counter murderous armed attacks between the secret cult groups in different parts of Enugu metropolis, Agbani and Nsukka areas of the State.
“The investigations further reveal that the attacks have led to the murder of a yet-to-be ascertained number of individuals on different dates and times in the mentioned locations.
“The suspects were today, 20/04/2023, arraigned in court and remanded in the Nigerian Correctional Custodial Centre; while frantic operational and investigative efforts are on course to apprehend and bring other perpetrators of the act to book.”
He also said that the Commissioner urged parents, guardians, community and religious leaders in the State to caution and dissuade their children, wards, or subjects from partaking in secret cultism and its related criminal activities.