Police storm birthday venue, arrest suspected cult members

A bash meant to celebrate the birthday of an unnamed member of Eiye Confraternity was suddenly halted on Saturday after policemen stormed the venue and arrested no fewer than 13 people present at the event.

The Lagos State Police Command said on Tuesday that the arrested persons were also members of the Eiye Confraternity cult.

The police insisted that the suspects and others at large were at the 50-50 hotel, Igbokosun, Lagos, the venue of the supposed bash, to celebrate new members who had just been initiated into the cult.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters, said, “The Divisional Police Officer,  Ilasan, Lekki Lagos, CSP Gbenga Olurunfemi, got a distress call around 3.55am that a group of cultists were about to perpetrate their evil act.

“Olurunfemi led a team of policemen to the scene and on sighting the policemen, the cult members took to their heels. The policemen gave chase and arrested 13 of them wearing T-shirts bearing the inscription, ‘The Supremost Eiye Confraternity’.”

The police boss said a set of sound system, phones sets, two Vanagon buses with number plates, AAA 265 XJ and APP 198 XJ, and one Infinity Jeep, marked, EPE 505 MD, were some of the items recovered from the scene.

He said the cult members came from Bariga, Ogun State and Ajah for the ceremony.

However, Adebayo Ojomo, who was identified as the leader of the group, denied the allegation.

Ojomo, who was clothed in a T-shirt inscribed with ‘Eiye Supremacy’, claimed that he was only at the scene at the invitation of friends.

He said, “I usually go to that hotel every Friday to relax. I became friendly with a group of young men there. They told me that they had a birthday bash last Friday and invited me. They also told me that they were printing T-shirts for invited guests so I paid N2,000 to get it.

“I had no idea that they were cult members and I did not know that they printed the anything on the T-shirt. I am not a learned person; if I could read, I would have known they were cult members and I would have left the party.

“To my surprise, while we were at the party, the police stormed the place. They rounded us up and began to search us. They searched me, found nothing on me and still arrested me.”

Another suspect, 25-year-old Ademuagun Muraina, said, “I had gone to pray at a mosque in the Jakande Estate, Lekki, when some clerics at the mosque asked me to buy bottled water for them. I went to 50-50 hotel to buy the water.

“As I was buying the water, the police cordoned off the area. Meanwhile some people were in another section of the hotel, partying. When the police were unable to catch those who were partying, they came back and arrested those of us buying things at the hotel. I am not a cult member. I don’t know any of the people with whom I am being paraded.”