Ekiti State Police Command have arrested 17 suspects- including a couple linked to various cases of kidnapping, armed robbery and other cult-related crimes.

Ten suspected kidnappers and seven suspected cultists/armed robbers were paraded by the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abutu Sunday, at the Command Headquarters on Tuesday.

Among those paraded was Former one Usman Ali, who had been on the Command wanted list since December 2022 for different kidnapping incidents in the State

He was nabbed by RRS Operatives on a bush combing operation inside Kajola Forest Reserve on  April 5, 2023.

DSP Abutu also disclosed that the Police arrested one Usman Bature, who was suspected to be part of the kidnapping syndicate that shot and killed an Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Segun Ayebule, in September 2022.

“During investigation, it was revealed that the arrested suspect was among the hoodlums that laid siege along Oke Ako/Irele road on 03/09/2022, where the vehicle conveying one Ayebulu Segun, a Civil Defence Officer alongside his siblings, was attacked.

“The Officer was shot by the hoodlums and died on the spot while two other members of his family were kidnapped. Concerted effort intensified by the Command operatives later led to the rescue of the two kidnapped victims.”

In the same vein, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Command arrested one Jimoh Gani for his involvement in the robbing and gang raping of a student of University of Education, Ikere-Ekiti.

“Investigation revealed that the victim boarded a vehicle from Ado-Ekiti to Oye-Ekiti but on their way to Oye-Ekiti, the driver changed route and took her to A.U.D Secondary School where she was gang raped by the suspect alongside two others who are currently at large and robbed of her Tecno phone valued sixty-five thousand naira and cash sum of sixteen thousand naira.

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to have committed the heinous crime alongside one Femi Ayobami and Alfa Kayode, all of Ado-Ekiti, who escaped the scene during arrest. Their criminal hideouts was searched and several criminal charms used for their nefarious activities were recovered”

On April 1, 2023, RRS operatives, while acting upon a tip-off, arrested a couple, identified as Bello Lateef a.k.a AWOLU, Bello Jumoke, alongside one Adewoye Ayodeji  for being suspected members of secret cults and sponsoring the clash between the supreme Eiye confraternity and Black Axe ‘Aiye’ confraternity in Ado-Ekiti recently. 

“In a bid to curb the clash between the rival secret cult groups, Black Axe Aiye and Supreme Eiye Confraternity, the command’s operatives, through intelligence gathering, also arrested one Malik, a suspected member of a secret cult group.

“Upon the arrest of the suspect, two locally made pistols and two live cartridges were found in his possession. During the investigation, the suspect confessed to being a member of one of the secret cult groups and mentioned the names of other members at large. The effort to arrest other fleeing members is in progress.”