Odita Sunday 
By Odita Sunday
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested five suspected cultists allegedly linked to a criminal gang terrorising residents of the Apapa, Ijora and Badia areas of the state, recovering weapons, suspected hard drugs and other incriminating items during a raid on the group’s hideout.
The development was disclosed in a statement on Saturday by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, who said the operation was carried out by operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) following credible intelligence.
According to the statement, the operation began with the arrest of Abubakar Ayomide, also known as “Garbazin”, aged 25, who subsequently led police operatives to the gang’s hideout, where four other suspects were apprehended.
They were identified as Tanko Yusuf, 23; Ahmed Abibu, 24; Abubakar Shafi, 23; and Fatai Mohammed, 25.
Police said the principal suspect confessed to being a member of the Aiye Confraternity and has provided investigators with useful information to aid ongoing investigations. The Command added that efforts are underway to arrest other members of the criminal gang and conclude investigations for prosecution.
Items recovered during a search of the hideout include one battle axe, one UTC knife, two other knives, one hammer, substances suspected to be Indian hemp, suspected criminal charms and other exhibits.
Reacting to the operation, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, warned cultists and other criminal elements operating in the state to immediately abandon their criminal activities or face the full weight of the law.
He stressed that there would be no hiding place for cultists in Lagos, assuring that the Command remains committed to identifying, arresting and prosecuting all those involved in cult-related violence and other criminal activities.
The police commissioner also reassured residents that the Command would sustain intelligence-driven operations across the state until cultism and other violent crimes are decisively curtailed.
He urged members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information, assuring that all reports would be handled with the utmost confidentiality.
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