A 39-year-old fisherman, Ayoola Israel, who was arrested during a police crackdown on suspected cultists in the Ajangbadi area of Lagos State, has narrated how members of a notorious cult group allegedly used him to keep firearms and ammunition linked to violent attacks in parts of Ojo Local Government Area.
- +How I kept guns for cultists, Lagos fisherman confesses
Israel was arrested alongside the alleged chairman of the Neo Black Movement, popularly known as the Aiye Confraternity, Emmanuel Nwokolo, and two other suspected members of the group, Ebuka Nnamdi and Chinedu Okafor, by personnel attached to the Lagos State Police Command Tactical Squad.
Israel was arrested alongside the alleged chairman of the Neo Black Movement, popularly known as the Aiye Confraternity, Emmanuel Nwokolo, and two other suspected members of the group, Ebuka Nnamdi and Chinedu Okafor, by personnel attached to the Lagos State Police Command Tactical Squad.
The arrests followed directives by the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, over recurring cult clashes and killings in Ajangbadi, Shibiri, Ishashi and Ilogbo communities.
It was gathered that the gang had been linked to more than 10 killings and other violent crimes in the affected communities.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the police were also on the trail of other suspected members of the group identified as David, Emma, Paragon, Fela, Santa and one AB, also known as Awilo.
A police source attached to the Tactical Squad in Ijanikin told Saturday PUNCH that the command launched a manhunt after a spike in cult-related killings in the area.
He added that the unit swung into action by analysing data generated from the crime scenes as well as the pattern of the attacks.
“Through intelligence gathering, we were able to track one of the gang leaders, Emmanuel Nwokolo, to a hotel in the area, where he was arrested alongside another member, Ayoola Israel,” the source added.
The source said the arrest of the duo subsequently led to the apprehension of Nnamdi and Okafor, who allegedly served as armourers for the gang.
According to the police, weapons and ammunition belonging to the group were recovered from Israel and Nnamdi after they allegedly concealed them upon learning of the arrest of Nwokolo and Okafor.
Speaking in a confessional statement made available to Saturday PUNCH, Israel admitted being a member of the group but claimed that his role was limited to keeping weapons and ammunition.
He said, “I am 39 years old. I am a fisherman, and I am not one of the leaders of the gang. I only helped in keeping the guns and bullets for the gang. Emma forced me to keep the guns and the bullets with me. I didn’t follow them to any scene of killing, but I know that the group killed some Eiye members.”
Israel said he was lured into joining the group with promises of gaining access to influential people.
“I was initiated into the NBM with a promise that I would have the opportunity to relate with top and influential people around. That is why I agreed to join. When the police came to my house, they recovered 11 bullets and one revolver pistol,” he added.
In a separate confessional statement, Nwokolo admitted being a member of the Aiye Confraternity.
“It is true that I am a member of the Aiye cult group. My name is Emmanuel Nwokolo. I am into internet business. I was introduced to the Aiye Confraternity by one of my friends, Hurry, who is now late.
“Hurry told me that if I wanted to make it in life and see improvement, I should join the NBM (Aiye), but I have not seen any improvement in my life since I joined them,” he said.
Responding to allegations that his gang was responsible for more than 10 killings in the area, Nwokolo said, “I only participated in the killing of four people. The four people that I know were members of rival cult groups in our area.”
He further confessed to his alleged role in the killing of a suspected rival cult member identified as Soweto.
“The first person we killed was Soweto, a member of the Eiye Confraternity who also had a gun. Emma, one of our members, came to us and said he had sighted him. He said Soweto had once attempted to kill him.
“We lured him to a place after telling him that we wanted to buy hard drugs from him. Four of us — Emma, Paragon, Santa and I — carried out the operation. I was the one recording the killing,” he disclosed.
Nwokolo also admitted knowledge of the killings of two other suspected rival cult members.
“There was another person we killed because his group, Aro Berger, formed an alliance with the Eiye Confraternity against us. The third person was an Eiye member called Bisi, who was also involved in selling hard drugs. David identified him and our leader, AB, also known as Awilo, led us to where he was sighted and we killed him,” he claimed.
The suspect added, “Emma and David were the most active members of our group. They were the ones identifying people to be killed. I only followed them to kill four people. The only thing I did in those killings was record the process.”
Despite his confession, Nwokolo claimed the killings affected him emotionally.
“Whenever my group killed any rival member, I could not sleep in my house for days. The memory brought fear and restlessness. It haunted me emotionally,” he said.
Nnamdi, a 31-year-old warehouse worker at Alaba International Market, also admitted being a member of the group but denied taking part in any killings.
“I know that my group had been killing people. I never followed them to any of the killings. There were clashes among different cult groups in Ajangbadi, and each group was killing rival members,” he said.
He alleged that he was tricked into joining the group in 2022.
“There was a day we were drinking at a hotel when David invited me to another hotel. Along the way, he later told me they were taking me for initiation into the cult group. It was Israel who later gave me the guns to keep,” he claimed.
Twenty-one-year-old Okafor, a trader at Alaba International Market, also admitted being a member of the group and said he was initiated in Owerri, Imo State, while caring for his ailing mother.
Speaking on the arrests, the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, said operatives recovered two locally made pistols, one revolver pistol and 13 live cartridges from the suspects.
The police commissioner said investigations were ongoing and that efforts were being intensified to arrest other fleeing members of the gang.
“The arrest is one of the successes recorded in our battle against cultism and other violent crimes in the state. We are on the trail of other members of the gang,” Tijani said.
He also commended the Tactical Squad in Ijanikin for what he described as its efforts in curbing cult-related violence in Ajangbadi, Shibiri and Ilogbo communities.
