The Lagos State Police
Command has arrested six teenagers for alleged involvement in a cult clash in
the Lagos Island area of the state.
Punch learnt that the six boys – whose ages ranged from 14 to 15
– were apprehended around Campos Square by policemen from the Lion Building
division.
It was gathered that the boys, from whom the police recovered axes, knives and machetes, were allegedly going for a reprisal on a rival cult when they were rounded up.
The suspects – whose
names were not disclosed by the police – were said to have been transferred to
the State Department of Criminal Investigations, Yaba.
A police source at the
SDCI told Punch Metro that the parents of the schoolboys had
been invited, adding that the parents claimed they were unaware that their
children were members of a cult.
He said, “The six
suspects were lurking around the Campos Square, where the rival gang members
were expected to pass. The oldest among them is 15 years. They started the cult
war in January and it had been attacks and reprisals since then. When the
police got the tip-off, the boys were arrested.
“Their matter has got
to the Commissioner of Police. The CP wants us to adopt alternative dispute
resolution because the boys are too small to be detained. The parents of the
six have been invited and they all claimed that they did not know their
children were in a cult. Although the boys were warned and granted bail, they
have been given days to come back for inspection.”
The state Commissioner
of Police, Fatai Owoseni, confirmed the incident.
He added that the new
cults children on the Lagos Island were joining had been identified as Happiness and Owonikoko groups.
He said, “It is a
disturbing trend and that is why the police want parents to be vigilant. The
children, whose ages ranged from 13 to 15, got involved in street fights and
cultism.
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