The Edo State Police Commissioner, Mohammed Dankwara, has announced the arrest of 53 individuals in connection with cult-related activities in the state.

In a statement released to the press, Dankwara warned citizens and organizations against providing support or resources to cult groups, stating that those caught doing so would face the full force of the law.

He urged those involved in cult activities to surrender themselves to the police and advised parents to be aware of their children's activities to prevent them from getting involved in such activities.

The statement read, “It would be recalled that recently there was an upsurge in secret cult activities and killings in the state where some faceless cultists had clandestine meetings in hotels, apartments, lounges, houses and drinking joints in different locations in the city and discussed how to attack and kill their perceived rival secret cult members, which resulted into the killing of some persons.

“This necessitated my meeting with my management team and command tactical teams. In the end, I gave a marching order to them to go into the streets, smoke out the cultists and arrest them all.

“On Thursday, July 13, 2023, the command’s anti-cultism, Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Units, in collaboration with the Edo State Security Network, while acting on credible information, arrested 53 male suspects in different locations. The suspects have been profiled, investigated and processed to court, and as I speak, they are in prison

“In a bid to expand ideas in finding solutions in fighting the scourge of secret cult activities and killings in the state, I had a meeting with some concerned citizens in my office and after a peaceful deliberation, we came out with some credible and workable solutions, of which I cannot disclose at this meeting until they are executed and targeted results are achieved.”