Photos: Imo police arrests 25 undergraduate cult students, parades them

The Imo state Police command yesterday July 6th paraded 25 suspected and prospective cult members of some polytechnics in Imo state, including the Alvan Ikoku College of Education and Imo state Polytechnic.

The Police acting on a tip off from residents of Emi village in Owerri North local government area stormed the Emi river at about 3.30am when initiation process for new members was being carried out. The young men were arrested after a gun battle with the police. Marijuana, weapons and all manner of charms were found with them. Continue...

However, some of the students who were arrested said they were being initiated against their will. One of them, Emenike Lawrence (pictured above) said he followed one of his friend out to see another friend who had promised to buy them drink and it was when they got to the bar that he was beaten and taken to a forest for initiation

"I went out with one of his friend who said I should follow him to go and see someone, a friend of his. I escorted him because he said that his friend is going to buy us drink and that if we drink we would come back, that is at Mission side. We reached there, some boys came out and started beating me. They took me inside a very big forest and then started beating us. That was their form of initiation before the police came and started shooting gun." he said

Speaking about the arrest, the Imo State Commissioner of police said Abdulmajid Ali said;

"They call them cult but I see them as potential armed robbers, kidnappers. These are guys that are being initiated into this kind of horrendous crime. We are trying to see if we can link them to the robbery, kidnap and murder cases that we are investigating at the moment. Although some of them will be identified by some of the victims.