Abia Police Command has warned that there is no place for cultistism and other crimes in the state.
- +Police warn cultists, arrest 17 suspects in Abia
The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, handed down this warning in a statement he issued on Wednesday through the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Maureen Chioma Chinaka, disclosing that the command arrested 17 cultists in the state.
The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, handed down this warning in a statement he issued on Wednesday through the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Maureen Chioma Chinaka, disclosing that the command arrested 17 cultists in the state.
According to the statement, the cultists are all male suspects, aged between 18 and 28 years.
Exhibits recovered, the command listed, include “five (5) short guns, three (3) live ammunition, thirteen (13) mobile phones of different makes, two (2) cutlasses, one (1) axe, and one (1) black beret”
The police stated, “Following the recent upsurge in cult-related activities in the State, including the attack on 13/05/2026 at No. 29 Brass Road, Aba, where a young man was shot and macheted to death by a group of suspected cultists; and the attack on 24/05/2026 at Ehere, near Opobo Junction, where another young man was shot by suspected cultists”
“The Abia State Police Command, leveraging on actionable intelligence, took the fight to the criminals. Operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), who successfully apprehended seventeen (17) suspected cultists linked to the aforementioned incidents in Aba, Abia State.
“The suspects were arrested at their various meeting points and while en route to perpetrate further crimes and the above-listed exhibits were recovered from them. Investigation has been concluded and the suspects are being charged to court.”
Isa reiterated the command’s unwavering commitment to its constitutional duties of protecting lives and property, as well as preventing and detecting crime in the state.
Isa assured Abians, “there will be no hiding place for cultism and other criminal activities in the state”.
“While the Command continues its awareness campaign through the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) unit in schools and communities, members of the public are advised to partner with the Police by reporting any suspicious persons or activities to the nearest police station”, CP Isa advised.
Cult-related violence has remained a security concern in parts of Abia State, particularly in commercial hubs such as Aba, where clashes between rival groups have occasionally resulted in deaths, injuries and destruction of property.
In response, the police have intensified intelligence-led operations and public awareness campaigns through the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) to discourage youth involvement in cult activities and curb related crimes.
