Nigeria: Police Arrest 24 Suspected Cultists Inside Forest

Locally made pistols were recovered from the suspects.

The police in Enugu State said they have arrested 26 suspects for various offences in the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

He said they arrested 24 of the suspects while they were having a "secret cult meeting and initiation process" in a forest at Eke in the Udi Local Government Area of the state.

Mr Ndukwe said police operatives raided their meeting camp on Saturday after receiving information about the gathering.

Two locally made pistols, seven black berets and litres of liquid substances suspected to be a mixture of palm wine and Indian hemp used for the initiation, were among the items recovered during the operation, according to the police.

"Ongoing investigation revealed that the suspects are made up of 14 newly initiated and ten old members of Apache Tigers ("Two-Two") which is also known as Black Beret ("BB") Confraternity. They all confessed to being members of the secret cult group," the police said.

Mr Ndukwe said the police also arrested one other suspect for alleged illegal possession of two locally made pistols with three live cartridges along Abakaliki Road, Enugu.

The suspect, Obinna Owoh, 22, hails from Ntezi in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

He was arrested on Sunday while two of his accomplices escaped, the police spokesperson said.

The police said they also arrested another suspect in Nsukka for alleged illegal possession of a Beretta pistol with one live round.

The suspect, Benedict Nwodo, 29, of Ugwuechara in Nsukka, was arrested following the prompt response of police operatives to a distress call.

"All the suspects shall be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded," the spokesperson said.

Mr Ndukwe said the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Abubakar Lawal, charged operatives to "remain at the top of their games to actualise the command's resolve to purge the state of unrepentant criminals".

He urged the public to remain law-abiding, and vigilant and continue to assist the police with useful information in the fight against crime in the state.

The latest arrest is coming barely one month after the police in the state announced the arrest of 46 suspects for various offences.

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