Fifty-one suspected cultists have been arrested with human skulls in Calabar and Ogoja areas of Cross River State.
Parading the suspects Wednesday, the Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Abdulkadir Jimoh, said the 51 of them were intercepted at the 8th Mile area of Calabar on their way to Akwa Ibom State while conducting themselves in manner likely to cause breach of the peace.
Jimoh said the suspects comprising 46 men and five women were apprehended with three fresh human skulls on Monday, August 17,2020, while driving dangerously without regard to safety of other road users along Goodluck Jonathan Road, heading towards the 8th Mile, and were given a hot pursuit by eagle eyed policemen who noticed their suspicious movement, and later intercepted them at the 8th Mile.
“When they were arrested and brought to the command headquarters, there were 51 of them: 46 males and five females. On interrogation, the suspects confessed to being cultists from Akpabuyo Local Government Area and that they were on their way to Akwa-Ibom State. Upon being searched,
three fresh human skulls were recovered from their masquerade regalia.
“Two Hiace buses with number plates KAM 541 XA and XA 668 UGB, two motorcycles, five matchets and three red flags with human skulls drawn on them were recovered. They all confessed to being members of the Nnabor Confraternity and the people responsible for the series of kidnapping and other vices in Akpabuyo LGA, and by extension, some parts of Calabar municipality.”
The police boss continued, “The command will undertake a forensic analysis of the skulls to determine whether they belong to some of the people that have been declared missing or some of the victims they had killed. The suspects have been profiled and will face the full wrath of the law.”
Speaking during interrogation, one of the suspects, Mike Asuquo, claimed the items recovered from them were just part of the masquerade regalia, saying “I was born to see the regalia thus from our great-grand fathers. I don’t know anything about human skulls. We took the masquerade regalia from our community town hall. The masquerade is a tradition of the Efik, and we went for burial at Obot Akara in Akwa-Ibom State,”
- Pix: Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu