Two suspected cult leaders have been arrested by operatives of the Nigerian Navy’s Forward Operating Base (FoB) in the oil-bearing coastal community of Ibaka in Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom State.
This occurred as tension mounts over the ongoing war between rival cult groups – the Red Skin and the Baggas.
Parading the suspects, yesterday, the commanding officer (CO), Capt. Uche Aneke, who handed the suspects over to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akwa Ibom Command, said it was for further investigation and prosecution.
He said the suspects were arrested last Sunday following reports of an ongoing cult war between the Red Skin and Baggas groups in Ibaka community.
Aneke said, “Members of the rival cult groups were engaged in a battle for supremacy, thereby disturbing the peace of the community.”
He said one of the suspects was found with a locally made pistol, a live cartridge and a machete.
The commanding officer decried the menace of cultism and warned individuals or groups in the habits of carrying out any form of criminality in the Base’s area of operation to desist or face the wrath of the law.
“Under the current leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, we will ensure that, it is impossible for cultists and militants to operate freely both on land and in the maritime areas of Akwa Ibom.
“Criminal elements in FoB, Ibaka area of operations under the Eastern Naval Command area of responsibility will continue to be detected using advanced surveillance equipment and intelligence,” he vowed.
Receiving the suspects and the arms, a representative of the DSS, Mr Abe Sunday, promised a thorough investigation and due diligence in the prosecution of the suspects if found guilty.
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