Ekiti Cult Clash: Senator Condemns Killings as Police Arrest 45 Suspects

By Victor Ogunje

The Ekiti State police have arrested no fewer than 45 suspects in connection with last Sunday’s bloody cult clash in Ikere Ekiti, which led to the death of six persons.

It was gathered that the bloody clash was as a result of rivalry between two warring cult groups.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Sunday Abutu, who confirmed the arrests to journalists in Ado Ekiti yesterday, said 35 persons were nabbed yesterday coupled with 10 that had earlier been apprehended last Sunday, thereby raising the number of suspects to 45.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Ekiti South, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, has condemned the killings of the six persons, describing it as extremely senseless.

Speaking further, Abutu stated that a combined team of security forces drafted when the news of the attacks got to the command had been able to restore peace in the town, while street patrol still continues.

The police spokesperson, however, maintained that only six dead bodies were recovered from the scene of the incident.

Senator Olujimi, who expressed worries over the untimely death of the people by the rival cult groups, said hooliganism and cultism should not be a way of life, and must be discouraged.

In a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain described the incident as condemnable, unacceptable and alien to the behavioural pattern of the peace-loving people of Ekiti State.

Olujimi said the loss of human lives to the bloody violence was worrisome, calling on the security agencies to fish out the masterminds of the killings and ensure they face full wrath of law.

She called on the state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to take proactive measure to check the free reign of cultists and other criminal in the state by sparing no efforts in turning severe heat on them.