‘ We are Cultists, not Armed Robbers’

Three suspects have been arrested by the police in Lagos for their alleged involvement in armed robbery and cult-related activities in Ikorodu town and its environs. The three suspects, Etti Korede, Tunde Jimoh and Olayide Isiaka are currently being detained at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command headquarters, Ikeja. A locally made pistol and a round of .9mm live ammunition were recovered from the suspects. SATURDAY THIS DAY gathered from police source at SARS that the suspects were behind various armed robbery attacks and cult-related activities in Ikorodu town in recent times.

According to the source, the arrest of the suspects followed a marching order the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Cornelius Kayode Aderanti, directing the head of SARS, Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP), to go to Ikorodu, which was fast becoming notorious for various violent crimes such as armed robbery, cult-related activities and land tussles.

However, Mr. Kenneth Nwosu, Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, confirmed the arrest of the three suspects.

Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, added that the three suspects had been helping the detectives in their investigation in a bid to apprehend other members of the gang, still at large.

Etti Korede, who hails from Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State and also, resides at No. 17, Omo Disu Street, Agric-Owutu, Ikorodu, admitted to be a member of Eiye Confraternity.

According to Korede, a barber and an Indian hemp dealer, he was arrested on December 26, 2014, following an intra-rival clash in their group, Eiye Confraternity at Agric bus stop, Ikorodu.

“I was once married, but my wife abandoned me when we lost our only child. I was arrested on Boxing Day, December 26, 2014, following a violent clash within our group at Agric bus stop and Irawo, Ajegunle, Owode-Onirin axis.

“Shola Iku is our leader, while Omo Alhaja is a floor member. The major grouse was over which political party, APC or PDP to work for, in the forthcoming general elections. Omo Alhaja is also a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and a land speculator, popularly called ‘Omo Onile’ in the local parlance.

“As we wanted to arrest Ade (aka Bolo Young), a factional leader of our group at Agric-Owutu, I didn’t know that, the SARS detectives were lurking around the vicinity of Mambilla Hotel, where I was and I was placed under arrest. Ade is a notorious cult member, but our mission to capture him at his hotel hideout, Mambilla, was to force him make peace with the warring factions within our group. Like I said earlier, Ade is not an easy person, as he goes about with body guards, who were always around him. And so, I armed myself with a locally made pistol, though it has a capacity to load six rounds. To carry out that assignment, I went to Jide, who is our armourer, to collect the gun from him for the operation. My intent was to fire the gun into the air in order to scare Ade and his bodyguards.

“We were still at the club house of the Mambilla Hotel, Owutu, Ikorodu, strategising, before we could strike in his hotel room, but we didn’t know that the detectives had been on our trail and we were rounded up. We have never killed anybody with the gun and we don’t rob”, said the 30-year-old suspect.

Tunde Jimoh, a native of Ibadan, Oyo state capital, admitted to be a member of the Eiye Confraternity.

“I went to watch a football game at an open field in Agric-Owutu, Ikorodu, sometime April 2013, until one of the cult members walked up to me and sent me on an errand to buy a bottle of Seaman Schnapps gin for him. When I returned, they all seized and blind-folded me. They cashed in on that opportunity and initiated me, by offering me garri and cold water to take it. They warned me seriously not to divulge the activities of the group to anybody. Subsequently, I was given a rank within the group so that, I could be financing the activities of the group. At that initiation, I could identify Olowo and Shola Iku. I gained nothing, joining the group and instead, I was spending to support them. And it was when the detectives were coming after us that Korede, who was first arrested, brought the detectives to my home. It was because I am a cult member in my area that I was arrested. I don’t use to go to clubs, because my leaders had threatened to kill me, if I could tell anybody about our activities. I am not an armed robber and I have never killed in my life. They forced me into the group so that they could be extorting money from me. At times, they would come to my shop and seize phone sets customers brought to me for repair, if I didn’t settle them on time. I am a mobile phone repairer and I stay at No. 6, Odukoya Street, Agric-Owutu, Ikorodu”, offered the 26-year-old suspect.

Also, Isiaka Olayide, who hails from Apomu, Osun State, confessed to membership of Eiye Confraternity.

According to the 30-year-old suspect and a bread baker, “I joined the cult group in 2005. It was one Tosin, popularly called ‘Toshine’ by his sobriquet, who initiated me into the Eiye Confraternity. Tosin was a graduate of Adeniran Ogunsanya College Education, Ijanikin, Lagos State.

“I stay at No. 5, Akingbale Street, Abule-Agbon, Owutu, Ikorodu. I work in my step father’s bakery. I was arrested because the detectives were going after cult boys in Ikorodu and its environs, and I am one of them”, concluded Isiaka.