Oyo Police Arrest 11 Over Alleged Robbery and Cultism

 

By Atlantic Reports

The Oyo State Police Command says it has arrested 11 suspects in connection with alleged cultism, armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, announced the arrests on Monday while presenting the suspects to journalists at police headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan.

Ayanlade said officers recovered five firearms and four cutlasses. The weapons he identified included a revolver pistol, a Beretta pistol, a pump-action gun and a locally made cut-to-size pistol. He did not describe the fifth firearm.

He said the arrests formed part of investigations and operations targeting violent crime across the state.

Among those detained was a student whom police alleged led an Eiye confraternity group. Ayanlade said the student and others were arrested with a firearm, a cutlass and ammunition.

The spokesperson also alleged that some of the suspects belonged to a group involved in stealing mobile phones and other possessions in Ibadan and its environs.

He said intelligence supplied with public assistance helped the command’s monitoring unit locate and arrest suspects at their alleged hideouts.

According to Ayanlade, a person police identified as the robbery group’s leader had previously been arrested and prosecuted and was in a correctional facility. The account did not specify whether that person was awaiting trial or serving a sentence.

During interviews at the police headquarters, a 35-year-old suspect said his group used cutlasses to frighten victims before taking their phones. He said 10 phones had been stolen and subsequently sold for between ₦40,000 and ₦50,000.

The account did not clarify whether those prices applied to individual phones or the entire batch. The statements made during the police presentation have not been tested in court.

The student also told journalists that he had joined the alleged cult group about a year earlier, but offered no clear explanation for doing so.

The supplied account did not provide the dates of the arrests, specific charges filed or a timetable for court proceedings.

All 11 remain suspects. Their individual involvement and any criminal liability must be established through the judicial process.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.