Police Arrest 19 Suspects Over Ondo Cult Clash

Ondo State Police Command on Tuesday disclosed that it has arrested 19 suspects in connection with the violent cult clashes that took place in Owo, the headquarters of Owo local government area of the state.

LEADERSHIP recalls that pandemonium broke out on Monday in the town following the shootout by suspected members of two rival cult gangs which led to the death of four people in the ancient town.

Assuming office as the new Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Olutokunbo Afolabi, said he had paid an on-the-spot assessment to Owo town to get first hand information on the crisis.

Addressing newsmen in Akure, the state capital, CP Afolabi said full scale investigation had been launched to ascertain real cause of the mayhem.

While saying that normalcy has been restored to the ancient town, the new Commissioner of Police vowed that the curfew imposed on the community by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa must be compiled with by residents.

The CP who was posted to Ondo State on December 24, 2024, promised that he would enhance professionalism, discipline and welfare packages for his officers.

Afolabi who lamented the influx of illegal firearms in circulation as demonstrated by killings in Owo, said he would deploy his men to arrest bearers of such unauthorized weapons and retrieve them.

He assured that he would set up a special team that will monitor operations of policemen on roads in the state to checkmate their excesses of alleged molestation of road users.