The Rivers State Police Command last week launched massive onslaught on cult groups in the state, killing two Greenland cult leaders in Ahoada West and arrested three other cult members in Khana Local Government Areas of Rivers State respectively.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe Koko in a statement on January 14,2024 said one of the cult leaders Samuel Oderereke had been on the run for the past four years, evading arrest
SP Koko disclosed that, his reign of terror came to an end when he resisted arrest and opened fire on the police, resulting in his death.
The Police Image Maker stated that the head of the Greenlanders’ cult group in the Ubie clan of Ahoada West, Samuel Oderereke and his gang were known for their criminal activities, which included armed robbery, land grabbing, unauthorized sales of buildings, and brutal attacks on those who dared to oppose them.
SP Koko explained that on January 11, 2024, the police received information about Oderereke’s gang’s robbery operation, which also involved vandalizing the property of the late monarch, Eze Robinson O. Robinson.
She said in a swift response, the police chased the criminals out of town but the defiant ‘General’ rallied his gang and launched an attack on a community-owned tank farm in Oderereke, intending to loot its contents and during the sabotage attempt that the police managed to apprehend the gang.
SP Koko revealed that Silas Oderereke and one other member of his gang opened fire on the police team, leading to an exchange of gunfire. In the shootout, Oderereke and his accomplice were neutralized while others sustained injuries.
The Police Public Relations Officer said two other cult leaders, Danger-boy and 2-Man, who frequently collaborated with Oderereke, managed to escape and are currently at large.
The spokesperson of the command said upon search of the gang’s hideout, the police discovered a G3 Rifle and nineteen 7.62x51mm ammunition while further investigations uncovered a camp Oderereke had established between Oderereke and Olokuma Communities.
SP Koko revealed that the camp served as a base for the cult leader and his numerous followers, from where they launched robbery attacks on innocent members of neighboring communities.
The affected communities expressed their relief and shared accounts of residents who had relocated to Port Harcourt due to the mayhem caused by the cult group” she said.
In a related development, the Police say three Dey-Well cult members were arrested in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers state over series of armed robbery attack on some communities in the area.
The Command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe Koko in a statement said the Police arrested three armed robbers who are members of the Dey-well cult group in Khana Local Government Area:
She gave their names of the suspects as 24-year-old Thank-God Francis, 26-year-old Bariakpe Itaa and 24-year-old Golden Felix, all from the Gbam Boue community in Khana LGA.
SP Koko, revealed that the Police responded to intelligence reports of the gang’s operations in Gbam-Boue, Kono-Boue and other neighbouring communities and promptly arrested them.
The Rivers state Police Public Relations Officer listed items recovered from the gang, after searching their houses, to include ”five pieces of military camouflage uniform, one pair of camouflage shoes, one military cap, one mobile police uniform, a small bag containing electrical tools, one live AK 47 7.6mm ammunition, one live cartridge, one solar panel, and some electrical wires suspected to have been stolen from one Gift Nuep of Uegwere Boue Community, a serving military officer attached to Borno State.
She added that the suspects are in custody while investigations ongoing.
Meanwhile the Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has congratulated the officers for their exceptional work.
CP Disu also issued a stern warning to cultists in the state, urging them to abandon their criminal activities and renounce cultism, or face the full weight of the law and assured the residents of Rivers State that the Police Command, under his leadership, remains fully committed to maintaining peace and bolstering security in the state.
