No fewer than 12 suspected members of a cult, Norsemen, have been apprehended by the police for allegedly terrorizing residents of Apo District, Abuja.
The suspects were caught with three cutlasses, locally fabricated rifle and a knife.
On interrogation at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad where they were being detained, the suspects confessed, stating their different reasons for joining the group.
One of the suspects, Fidelis Ogabor, said he was forced to join the group as a condition for a N200,000 business loan he needed to set up a hair salon.
“I approached one William for financial assistance after I lost my job as a supervisor in a factory, but he insisted that he would only help me when I become a member of Norsemen.
“William lent me the money after I joined Norsemen. I have paid him N23,000, but he kept pestering me for the balance because some of the people working for me told him that I had money and did not want to pay him.
“On October 9, 2016, William sent two guys and I went with them to Wumba community where I met him with some other guys. They beat me with cutlasses and inflicted injuries on my hand, but when they heard gunshots from policemen, they ran away and I was able to escape. I went to a clinic to treat myself, but the police came to my shop and arrested me.”
Another suspect said to be a laundryman, Kenneth Edmond, said the rifle found in his house does not belong to him but was given to him by a fellow cult member, Bullion who is still at large, for safekeeping.
He said: “Bullion came to my house and as we were chatting, his girlfriend called him on the telephone. So, he asked me to keep the gun for him because he was afraid that he may run into policemen. I hid the gun somewhere in the house, but the police searched my house the next morning and discovered the gun,”
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Anjuguri Manzah, confirmed that the arrest of the cultists has restored security in the area even as efforts are ongoing to arrest William and Bullion still at large.
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