The President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the University of Cross River State (UniCross), Favour Ogar, has reportedly been arrested alongside 10 others over an alleged cult initiation near the University of Calabar (UNICAL).
The suspects were arrested on Thursday, October 22, during a joint operation involving the Cross River State Police Command and the university’s internal security personnel.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Akata, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, saying operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, Satellite Town, Calabar, responded to a distress call from the university at about 10:30 am over suspected cult initiation activities in a nearby bush.
According to the statement, the operatives worked with the university’s security personnel to cordon off the area, leading to the arrest of 11 male suspects.
The police identified the suspects as Ogar Favour, 25; David Akpa, 27; Gift Emmanuel, 24; Aaron Favour, 24; David Abubu, 25; Victor Emmanuel Eyibo, 26; Oghenemaro Hendrix, 24; James Ede Joseph, 22; Charles Ekeng, 21; Edu Nkanu, 26; and Ogabor John Odey, 24.
Items recovered during the operation included a Lexus 350 saloon car reportedly abandoned by a fleeing individual and three motorcycles.
The Command, however, said no connection had been established between the recovered vehicles and the suspected cult-related activity.
It added that investigations were ongoing to establish the individual roles of the suspects and the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Commissioner of Police, Ajo Geoffrey Ordue, reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to tackling cultism and other violent crimes through intelligence-led policing and collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
The police urged members of the public to provide credible information that could assist in preventing crime and protecting lives and property.
The Command also stressed that all suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.