The
Cross River State Police Command has recovered human skulls, charms,
assorted rifles and ammunition used by cult members and armed robbers in
terrorising the state in the last few months.
Displaying
the items at the command’s headquarters in Calabar on Tuesday, the
state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Osita Ezechukwu, said the last few
weeks had been challenging as cult members tried to create panic in
Calabar, the state capital.
The
items comprise two human skulls, charms, two bottles of concoction,
four AK47 rifles, 12 locally-made pistols, four single-barrelled rifles,
machetes, four stolen vehicles and 13 telephone handsets.
Ezechukwu
said around 11.30pm on July 2, the police at Odukpani Division carried
out a raid on a black spot at Netim village where cult members suspected
to have escaped from Calabar South were hiding in an uncompleted
building.
Although
he was not specific on the number of arrests, it was gathered that over
30 cult members were arrested and charged to court for various
offences.
The
police chief also said five armed robbery suspects believed to members
of an eight-man gang were earlier arrested in Boki Local Government Area
of the state on May 20 after an operation.
He
said, “An eight-man gang of armed robbers left Gbedue in Logo Local
Government Area of Benue State for Isor Bendeghe in Boki LGA of Cross
River State where they robbed people of cash and valuable items.
“The
robbers hid their weapons in a big loud speaker while in transit. Five
of them were arrested and various arms and ammunition, including a cash
of N46, 340 were recovered from them.”
Describing
his achievements in his 100 days in office as a welcome development,
Ezechukwu emphasised the need for cooperation between the police and
members of the public in order to reduce crime rate.
He
said the task of ensuring adequate security was not a one-man show,
adding that the current trend of policing had become community based.
PUNCHNG
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