Edo Cult Wars: Police Apprehend 95 Suspects

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Amidst an upsurge in cult related  clashes and deaths, the Edo State Police authorities on Saturday, May 3, 2025, announced the arrest of no fewer than 95 suspected cultists.

A statement from the Command’s spokesperson, Moses Iyamu,  indicated that multiple dangerous weapons and ammunition were also recovered during a week-long raid on some hotspots across the state.

The Source reports that most parts of Edo state, particularly, Benin, the State capital have, of late, been put on edge by sporadic cult- related clashes and deaths.

Alleged supremacy battles among cult groups in the State have left many dead and others severely injured in the past few weeks.

Many, including the State  Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, last week, expressed serious concern that the State may have yielded to the murderous activities of cultists.

Instructively, the Governor, apart from giving security agencies the marching order to swoop on all perceived cult- prone areas, also personally supervised the demolition of some structures believed to be used for cult- related activities.

The State Police authorities said that the arrested suspects are believed to be members of Eiye Maphites and Aye confraternities who are, alleged, to be responsible for the spate of recent cult supremacy killings in some parts of the State.

This is just as the state Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, cautioned youths in the state to refrain from associating with unlawful and dangerous groups.

The CP, while appealing to parents and guardians to monitor the activities of their wards, also, warned that security agents will deal decisively with those found to be disrupting peace and order.

“These groups destroy futures and end lives of both members and innocent citizens”, CP Agbonika stated.

Of the 95 arrested suspects, 64 have been arraigned, and subsequently remanded in custody while the remaining are still under investigation, according to the Police.