Five People Arrested at Kogi Poly, Suspected Cultists, Others

The Kogi State Polytechnic’s administration announced on Wednesday that five alleged cultists had been taken into custody.

Tuesday during the ongoing second semester exam for the 2023–2024 school year saw the suspects apprehended.

The polytechnic’s spokesperson, Uredo Omale, revealed this in a statement. He stated that three students were also detained by the school’s security team for allegedly selling hard narcotics among other offenses.

He named the suspects as Ajayi Oluwaseun Oladipo (matriculation number:2022/HND/BUS/275), Isenre Elijah Ayomide (matriculation number:2022/HND/BUS/146), and Omonijo Sunday (matriculation number:2022/HND/BUS/181). He described the suspects as HND II students in the Department of Business Administration.

Otitoju Christopher, Babatope Ayomide, Isaiah Babatunde, Shina Ayodeji, and Makinde Olalekan are the five non-students that were detained; they are all from Ekiti State but reside in Abuja, according to the statement.

“The suspects’ arrest was the outcome of proactive measures implemented by the institution’s management to thwart the infiltration of cultists and other prohibited groups and individuals. It was reported that these groups and individuals were preparing to enter the campus armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, working in collusion with some cybercrime suspects, a.k.a. Yahoo.

“It was learned that their intention was to injure their targets and create disturbances on campus while the second semester exam was still in progress.”

View the entire statement below:

The Kogi Poly Security Team apprehends suspected drug dealers and cultists during a continuing examination in the second semester.

Turns over suspects to law enforcement

Amidst the ongoing second-semester test for the 2023/2024 academic session, Kogi State Polytechnic Lokoja’s combined security team detained three (3) students and five (5) others on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, on suspicion of being members of a secret society and hard drug dealers.

The following HND II students from the Department of Business Administration have been apprehended:

Isenre Elijah Ayomide (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/146), Omonijo Sunday (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/181), and Ajayi Oluwaseun Oladipo (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/275).

The five non-students that were detained are Otitoju Christopher, Babatope Ayomide, Isaiah Babatunde, Shina Ayodeji, and Makinde Olalekan. They are all from Ekiti State but reside in Abuja.

The suspects were apprehended due to proactive measures implemented by the university’s management to prevent the infiltration of cultists and other prohibited groups and individuals. It was reported that these individuals were planning to enter the campus armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, possibly with the help of some cybercrime suspects, also known as Yahoo.

It was learned that their intention was to hurt their targets and create disturbances on campus while the second semester exam was still in progress.

This was done under the pretense of their graduation “celebration” rites at the end of the examination, which the management had previously forbidden owing to security concerns.

Ahead of the current second semester exam, the Polytechnic Management received intelligence reports indicating that some bad actors, suspected of being involved in cybercrime, cults, and illegal drug sales, had developed a plan to bring in members from other states and universities to wreck havoc on campus.

Management made the decision to step up further security measures in order to stop the incident, outlawing the administration of any kind of second-semester assessment on campus.

The Chief Security Officer duly sent out a circular outlining the prohibited actions before, during, and after the exam to the students, informing them of this decision.
The circular was released following several meetings with the departmental presidents, the Students Union Government (SUG), and the National Association of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS) to raise awareness among the students and advise them to refrain from acting in an unfavorable manner during the exam for their own benefit.

Additionally, the Polytechnic Management took action by holding meetings and forming the Examination Security Management Committee, which included representatives from students, the Chief Security Officer (CSO), and all deans.

the Chief Imam and the Polytechnic Chaplain as members, and tasked with creating security plans to thwart the evil elements’ intended infiltration and guarantee the smooth running of exams.

Additionally, officers from security agencies like the Vigilante Group, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), and Nigeria Police were dispatched to provide their services.

One important additional proactive security strategy adopted by the Committee was to prevent students from using their cars and motorcycles beyond the designated car park on the campus during the examination.

Furthermore, all vehicles were thoroughly searched and more plain clothes security operatives were deployed to monitor movement of those that have no business on the campus during the examination.

These security strategies and efforts paid off with the arrest of the three (3) students and their five (5) imported non – students mercenaries .

The Polytechnic Management started observing a dangerous sign on Monday 15th July, 2024 when the Department of Public Administration HND II students wrote their last paper.

The Management got an intelligence report of the infiltration of some notorious  old students of 2018/2019 sets who are suspected to be cultists alongside some imported mercenaries from Edo and Delta states that came that day to cause mayhem using the style of motorcade, spraying of naira notes while seating on their vehicles on the highway.

In the process, there were gunshots from the direction of “Always Petrol station” adjacent the Polytechnic main gate where the imported mercenaries were allegedly camped since the campus was not comfortable for them because of the security measures put in place.

To prevent a repeat of the Monday incident, more security strategies were  deployed ahead of Tuesday 16th July, 2024, when the HND II students from the Department of Accountancy, Library and Information Sciences as well as the Business Administration were scheduled to write their final papers.

It was the security arrangement and tip-off that led to the arrest of the three (3)  students and their hired mercenaries who claimed to hail from Ekiti State, but based in Abuja.

The suspects were intercepted at the main entrance of the Polytechnic gate while on their motorcade. The driver of the second car, however, jumped out of the vehicle and escaped.

Some suspected hard drugs wrapped in a polythene bag, papers cut to sizes supposedly for wrapping of drugs and one beret cap with a symbol suspected to be that of a cult group were seen in the car and in possession of the occupants of the two (2) intercepted cars.

In all, the items recovered from the apprehended suspects include  two cars (2); a light green coloured Mercedes Benz Saloon with Reg. Number:  EKITI STATE “MUE – 598 – AE” and a black coloured Toyota Lexus Saloon with Reg. Number from: EBONYI STATE “SKA – 78 – AE”,different types of drugs, remnant of some naira notes amounting to N14000 naira, beret cap with a symbol suspected to be that of a cult and an MP3 player  were handed over to the Nigeria Police at the ‘B’ Division in Lokoja.

Prior to the coming on board of the current leadership of the institution under Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman, the Polytechnic was notorious for cult parades at the end of every session, and with cult groups demonstrating their might through gun shots and killing of marked targets to the extent that the past Management, Lecturers and other staff used to abandon the campus for fear of their lives as cultists operated unchallenged during such period.

Within such past  period, a Lecturer was stabbed and killed on the campus of the Polytechnic.

All those social vices and unacceptable conduct have stopped in Kogi State Polytechnic in the last four (4) years that the current Rector came on board.

The Rector and his Management team constantly adopted a proactive approach in tackling security challenges effectively.

Evidently, the notorious elements that were hitherto operating like demigods on the campus have been chased away.

The Rector commended the efforts of the Examination Security Management Committee, the Joint Security team and the Intelligence Team for a job well-done through teamwork  for nipping the dangerous intent in the bud.

The Rector also used the opportunity to admonish the ND II students to be vigilant of any bad elements that may infilterate into their group and report same to the Management through the Security Unit.

The Rector further advised parents and guardians to caution their children and wards by paying close attention to their behaviours and material acquisition without known sources of income, the type of companies they keep as well as their movement against involvement in criminal activities as those who are caught within the spheres of the Polytechnic with untoward characters would not be spared.

He also warned non-students who are interested in coming to the campus for cult and other related social vices to keep off or face the full wrath of the law.

Uredo Omale

Director, Public Relations and Protocol.

Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.

Source Channestv