Oyo State Police Command has arrested 11 suspected members of the Eiye Confraternity, all believed to be students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, over an alleged plan to launch attacks within the university community.
The operation also led to the recovery of firearms, ammunition and several dangerous weapons reportedly intended for use in the planned assault.
The Command disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, explaining that the arrests followed intelligence reports indicating that members of the cult group had assembled at different locations in the Under-G, Yuako and Adenike areas of Ogbomoso to coordinate violent activities capable of destabilising the campus environment.
Acting on the intelligence, operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU, carried out coordinated raids on the identified hideouts, successfully foiling the alleged operation before it was executed.
Police authorities stated that the operation resulted in the arrest of 11 male suspects, who were immediately taken into custody for investigation.
According to the Command, preliminary interrogation revealed that the suspects allegedly admitted membership of the Eiye Confraternity, while ongoing investigations also linked them to several cult-related offences, including murder.
The police further disclosed that all the suspects 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 recovered four locally made cut-to-size pistols, 11 live cartridges, one spent cartridge, two axes suspected to be used for cult activities, a cutlass, a dagger and a red hooded cult regalia.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, praised the VCRU operatives for their professionalism and swift action, noting that the intervention helped to prevent what could have degenerated into violent clashes within the university community.
He assured residents that the Command would continue its crackdown on cultism and other violent crimes across the state, adding that efforts were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the group.
Olugbenga also disclosed that the suspects would be prosecuted upon the completion of investigations.
The police commissioner urged residents to continue supporting security agencies with useful and timely information, stressing that public cooperation remains vital in the fight against cultism and criminality in the state.
He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to protecting lives and property while sustaining efforts to rid Oyo State of violent and criminal elements.
