The Ogun State Police Command yesterday arrested no fewer than eight members of a dreaded cult known as the Black Axe Confraternity, while mourning one of their members, who died recently.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, made this known in a statement on Sunday when he explained that the suspected cultists allegedly shot a 16-year-old boy, Onome Iduru, during a procession in honour of their departed member.

According to the PPRO, the arrested suspects are Olatunji Opeyemi, 26; Ayuba Oduola, 25; Sobowale Abiodun, 28; Sobowale Sunday, 25; Adelowo Olalekan, 32; Kareem Lanre, 21; Emmanuel Adebisi, 21; and Tobiloba Wasiu, 20.

The PPRO said that after shooting the victim, the cultists took his phone and unleashed terror on the community.

His words, “The cultists were arrested following a report lodged at the Ogijo Police Station, where the  16-year-old boy was rushed to after he was  shot in the stomach by the cultists, who were in a procession in honour of their departed member.

“The cultists, after shooting the victim, dispossessed him of his phone and unleashed terror on the community.

“Upon the report, the DPO Ogijo Division, CSP Muhammed Suleiman, led his men to the scene, where eight members of the violent group were arrested after serious encounter with the policemen.

“A banner designed with the group’s insignia to announce the death of their member was recovered from them, while the injured victim was taken to the Oladayo Hospital for medical attention.”

Oyeyemi disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, had ordered the transfer of the suspects to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation.

The PPRO said, “The commissioner, therefore, warns that any group or individual, who engage in any activity capable of undermining the peace of the state will be dealt with in a very decisive manner.

“He appealed to parents to warn their children not to belong to any unlawful society as the results may be catastrophic.”