The Edo State Police Command has announced plans to prosecute several suspected cultists arrested in connection with the murder of Braimoh Fulani, who was killed in front of his daughter in the South Ibie area of the state.
According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, speaking in a telephone conversation with PUNCH Metro on Sunday, the decision to prosecute the suspects underscores the gravity of the situation.
Tension gripped Auch town earlier in the week following a violent clash between rival cult groups, resulting in the fatal shooting of an alleged Eiye member in the presence of his daughter, as previously reported by PUNCH Online.
Reports on social media suggested that the perpetrators, believed to be members of the Aye Confraternity, arrived at the scene in a Lexus car.
The violence was reportedly in retaliation to an earlier attack on a member of the Aye group, identified as Emma, who was killed on Monday in Auchi.
Nwabuzor revealed that the police had arrested several suspects involved in the series of attacks, which claimed the lives of three individuals between April 18 and April 23, 2024, including Umoru, Emmanuel Odiase, and Braimoh Fulani.
He stated, “Following the outbreak of violent attacks… operatives of the South-Ibie Division and the Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Unit of the Command stormed the scene and arrested seven cultists of the Black Axe group.”
Further updates on the incident were provided by Nwabuzor, who confirmed that the suspects would face prosecution upon the conclusion of the investigation.
The recent resurgence of cult-related violence in Edo State underscores ongoing security challenges in the region, with previous reports indicating over 180 fatalities attributed to cult clashes and gun violence between January 2021 and December 2023.
