Ten suspected members of Eiye Confraternity in Sagamu have been arrested over the recent killings in the area, the police in Ogun State have state.
The cultists were arrested for allegedly attacking and injuring policemen in an attempt to evade arrest.
Within Nigeria had reported on Saturday that three people were killed in Sagamu last week by suspected cultists.
Police on Monday said the arrest of the 10 suspects was a continuation of “Operation Clampdown on Cultists.”
The spokesman of the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, named the arrested suspects as Adekoya Adesina, Ayinde Olumide, Adebayo Jamiu, Johnson Adeyemi, Ajayi Temitope, Taiwo Olatunji, Oladapo Ayeye, Tunde Banjo, Gbenga Morufu and Tunde Adenuga.
Their arrest followed a tip-off that some cultists had converged at different locations in Odogbolu and were planning to cause mayhem in Sagamu in continuation of a supremacy battle.
To avert the planned attack, the Police Anti-Cultism Unit mobilised and swoop in against them.
“On sighting the policemen, the hoodlums attacked them with dangerous weapons. They were, however, subdued, after which 10 of the cultists were apprehended,” Oyeyemi stated.
The police spokesperson added that SP Morakinyo Adejumo, the second-in-command officer of the unit, “was seriously injured during the operation and was rushed to the hospital, where he is responding to treatment.”
According to Oyeyemi, eight live cartridges and a large quantity of weed, suspected to be cannabis, were recovered from the suspects.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police Olanrewaju Oladimeji has ordered a manhunt for the fleeing members of the group.
“The Command is ready to take the battle to their doorsteps,” he avowed.