The police in Ekiti State said on Monday that 35 more suspects had been arrested in connection with the clash between two rival cults on Saturday and Sunday in Ikere Ekiti, which left six persons dead.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Sunday Abutu, said the arrest followed efforts of the combined forces of men of the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Army, Amotekun Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the community.
Abutu said, “I can confirm to you that additional 35 suspects are in police custody following the violent clash between rival cults, which led to the death of six persons alleged to be cultists over the weekend. Ten suspects were arrested on Sunday. In all, the police have arrested 45 suspects. Investigations are ongoing.”
The police spokesperson, who said normalcy had been restored to Ikere Ekiti, said that the combined forces were still patrolling the community to ensure that there was no reprisal from any group.
The clash followed the killing of a cult member on Saturday, which made members of the group he belonged carried out a reprisal on a rival cult, whose members were believed to have killed the deceased.
The senator representing Ekiti South, Mrs Biodun Olujimi, on Monday condemned the killings, saying, “Hooliganism and cultism should not be a way of life and must be discouraged.”
In a statement personally signed by her, Olujimi, who described the incident as “condemnable, unacceptable and alien to the behavioural pattern of peace-loving people of Ekiti State,” called on security agencies to fish out the masterminds of the killings and ensure that they face the full wrath of the law.
“I condemn in totality Saturday’s cult clash in Ikere Ekiti, which claimed at least six lives. It is barbaric and inhuman to kill fellow human beings under any guise. The spate of kidnapping, banditry and activities of cultists has instilled phobia in the residents with people finding it difficult to sleep with two eyes closed,” she stated.
