The
leader of a cult group who was arrested at the weekend by operatives of
the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command in
Jakande Estate, Ajah area, Lagos suburb, has boasted that no amount of
bullets can penetrate his body.
The suspect, Andrew Awalebi, 35,
who belonged to the Eiye Confraternity, was arrested on Friday morning
at a beer parlour with three other suspected cult members around 8 a.m.
Two
other members of the group, Adegoke Adeleke (30), Kehinde Adebogun
(31), were also picked up early Saturday morning at an hotel in Ikorodu.
Awalebi,
from Ilaje Local Government, Ondo State was given out by Michael
Thompson of the same Eiye Confraternity as a cult leader. Thompson was
arrested a night before for robbery at the National Stadium, Surulere,
Lagos.
Awalebi, who disclosed that he worked with a popular land
owner in Lekki, stated that he earns N40, 000 monthly from the property
dealer for helping to protect his landed property in the axis.
He
told investigator that the bullet protection charm was specially
prepared for him by a herbalist in Ijebu-Isiwo, Ogun State, to save him
from being killed by land grabbers in Lekki.
He added, “I was
initiated into Eiye Confraternity in 1996 by Banji Omisore and later in
1997 I was promoted to the position of a leader after the death of
Omisore.
“We are eight-member cult group. We meet very early in
the morning or late at night. I was arrested by Special Anti – Robbery
Squad sometime ago when my cult group caused mayhem in Jakande Estate,
inflicting injuries on passersby in the area.”
Arrested alongside
Awalebi were Michael Thompson (24), Adegoke Adeleke (30), Kehinde
Adebogun (31), Koffi Kwame (17), Daniel Olayiwola (36) and Tosin Issac,
26. They all confessed to be members of Eiye Confraternity.
While
confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Lagos
Police Command, Superintendent of Police, Dolapo Badmus, warned parents
and guardians to be wary of their children and wards’ behaviours.
“Charity
begins at home. But this should end there. Parents should help police
to tackle cultism in their respective localities. They should endeavour
to report to the nearest police station around them if they suspect
movements of their children, this will help the Police to nip cultism to
the bud,” she advised.
The cult suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID), Panti, for prosecution.