The Oyo State Police Command has arrested 11 suspected Eiye Confraternity members, all of whom are thought to be Ladoke Akintola campus of Technology (LAUTECH) students, in connection with an alleged conspiracy to commit attacks on the campus community.
The operation also resulted in the seizure of firearms, ammo, and various deadly weapons allegedly meant for use in the planned assault.
The Command announced this in a statement issued on Friday, explaining that the arrests were made in response to intelligence reports indicating that members of the cult group had gathered at various locations in Ogbomoso’s Under-G, Yuako, and Adenike areas to coordinate violent activities capable of destabilising campus security.
Acting on the intelligence, operatives from the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU, conducted coordinated raids on the identified hideouts, successfully foiling the alleged operation before it was carried out.
According to police, the operation resulted in the arrest of 11 male suspects, who were immediately taken into custody for further investigation.
According to the Command, preliminary interrogation revealed that the suspects allegedly admitted membership in the Eiye Confraternity, and ongoing investigations have linked them to a number of cult-related crimes, including murder.
The police further confirmed that all the accused are students of LAUTECH.
Those arrested were identified as Adedapo Victor, 24, alleged leader of the group; Taiwo Rasheed, 22, said to be the deputy leader; Emeka Issac, 20; Akande Segundo, 26; Akande Julius, 26; Stephen Opeyemi, 24; Fortune Abel, 22; Oluwatunmise Ayodeji, 22; Adigun Oladimeji, 32; Akande Moses, 28; and Karim Kalid, 20.
During a search of the suspects and their hideout, security operatives reportedly seized four locally made cut-to-size handguns, 11 live cartridges, one used cartridge, two axes suspected to be used for cult activities, a cutlass, a dagger and a crimson hooded cult regalia.
Reacting to the occurrence, the Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, lauded the VCRU operatives for their professionalism and fast action, stressing that the intervention helped to prevent what may have deteriorated into violent fights within the university community.