In a series of intensified operations, the Delta State Police Command’s Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT) has successfully engaged and neutralized suspected kidnappers and arrested five alleged cultists across Delta State, recovering firearms and a stolen vehicle in the process. The operations highlight the command’s commitment to tackling organized crime and cultism within the state.

The first operation occurred on October 28, when CP-SAT operatives, acting on intelligence, stormed a hideout along Ewheru-Patani Road in Ughelli Local Government Area. During a fierce gun battle with the suspected kidnappers, two suspects sustained gunshot wounds and later died after being transported to Ughelli General Hospital. The police recovered an AK-47 rifle loaded with six rounds of live ammunition and a Beretta pistol with two rounds. Preliminary investigations suggest the suspects were involved in criminal activities along the Warri-Sapele Road and may be linked to recent killings in Oghara and Ughelli.

In a second operation on November 4, CP-SAT operatives, acting on information from a prior arrest, apprehended five alleged cultists from the Supreme Vikings Confraternity in the Oton community and Sapele town. The suspects, including 34-year-old Eremoje Dudun Oritsedere (known as “General”) and four others, were detained following confessions made by Philip Okunumah, an earlier detainee implicated in multiple cult-related killings. Police recovered a Toyota Corolla suspected to be used in cult operations, along with a Beretta pistol loaded with four rounds of ammunition.

Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, encouraged parents and guardians to guide their children away from cultism and urged citizens to report suspicious activities to law enforcement.

SP Edafe Bright, the Police Public Relations Officer for Delta State Command, stated that investigations are ongoing to dismantle these networks and restore peace in the affected areas.