The Delta State Police Command has arrested 13 suspected members of a cult group and recovered several firearms and other dangerous items.

The suspects were arrested during an initiation ceremony at the Ekraka Community forest in Kokori on Saturday.

The operation carried out late-night during a tactical operation in Ethiope East local government area of the state followed credible intelligence that members of the Aiye Confraternity, also known as Black Axe, were planning an initiation.

Police, operatives of the Quick Response Squad, led by its commander, SP Collins Achem, were swiftly deployed to the area to prevent the gathering.

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The Police Public Relations Officer, Delta State Command, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement.

“At about 11:00 p.m., the patrol team encountered the suspects, who reportedly engaged the operatives in a gun duel upon sighting them.

“The operatives responded decisively, leading to the arrest of 13 suspects, while several others escaped deeper into the forest.

“A search of the forest resulted in the recovery of two automatic pump-action guns, one double-barrel cut-to-size gun, one single-barrel cut-to-size gun and a battle axe.

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“Other items recovered included aprons bearing “NBM” insignia, razor blades cut into pieces, mobile phones, charms, and suspected hard drugs.

“In addition, seven vehicles believed to be owned and used by members of the cult group were recovered and towed to the QRS Base in Warri.

“The suspects are currently in police custody, while investigations are ongoing to determine their individual roles, dismantle the cult network, and apprehend other fleeing members,” the statement read.

The Delta State Police Command urged residents to remain vigilant and continue to support the police with credible information to enhance security across the state.

He told parents, schools, community and faith leaders, as well as youths, to see the fight against cultism as a collective responsibility.

A tragic accident involving a fuel tanker and the convoy of Senate President Godswill Akpabio claimed the life of a police dispatch rider, Ibrahim Hussaini, on Sunday.

Akpabio made the announcement on Tuesday while addressing lawmakers during plenary, expressing his condolences to the family of the fallen officer.

Dispatch riders, who are typically police personnel, escort senior government officials on motorcycles marked for official use.

The Senate President arrived in the chamber shortly after the session began and informed his colleagues that Hussaini had already been laid to rest earlier that morning.

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Although he did not give a precise location, Akpabio explained that the crash occurred in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, shortly after his convoy picked him up from the airport.

He said: “We went to Oyo State for the installation of our colleague. Unfortunately, my dispatch rider was run over by a tanker driver, and his head was shattered. We just buried him 15 minutes ago in Kogi State. He left two wives and four children.

“By the grace of God, I’m recommending two of his senior children for employment immediately in any parastatals that may wish to; otherwise, I’ll employ them personally in any of my private concerns.”

He noted that the officer was buried in Kogi State and is survived by two wives and four children.

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Following the announcement, Sunday Karimi, the senator representing Kogi West, raised a motion on personal explanation to formally present the matter to the Senate.

Karimi described Hussaini as a Deputy Superintendent of Police who was expected to retire next year. He added that the officer, who hailed from Kogi State, had been part of Akpabio’s security detail since 2023, when Akpabio assumed office as Senate President.

Karimi also informed lawmakers of another loss: the death of Ibrahim Tukur, a long-serving driver attached to Isah Jibrin, the senator representing Kogi East. Tukur reportedly passed away at his home on Saturday after 25 years of service.

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Jibrin later addressed the chamber, noting that Tukur had worked with him since his early career as a banker at the now-defunct AfriBank. He offered prayers for his former driver’s soul.

The session concluded with Akpabio asking senators to observe a minute of silence in honour of both deceased staff members.

Thugs stormed the Onitsha Shoe Dealers’ Market on Monday, causing chaos in the area.

According to DAILY POST, several traders were severely brutalized during the attack.

Concerned traders, under the Emordi Shoe Dealers Association, have condemned the invasion, describing it as barbaric.

A video currently in circulation could show some of the traders battered by the thugs allegedly acting under the instruction of a former chairman of the Association, one Nwabueze Umeh.

One of the traders, who spoke under anonymity, alleged that Umeh had been instigating troubles in the market ever since his tenure ended many years ago.

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According to him, he fought his immediate successor to a standstill and had continued to unleash the same treatment on the current chairman, Okwudili Anigbogu, whose election was said to have been supervised by the authorities of the Onitsha South LGA

The source said trouble started after Ume claimed that the election had been annulled by Governor Charles Soludo, through the governor’s PA on Markets.

“Meanwhile, there was no formal communication from the government to prove that such an order was given by the governor.

“The next thing we saw was that they stormed the market with thugs and some members of the state security operatives, known as SASA, and started brutalizing our members.

“The thugs, under the supervision of those that brought them, also left with the wares of some of the victims.

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“The group has been notorious for arresting and detaining people for days without handing over to the police.

“In this instance, when they came to the market, Nwabueze Umeh prevented people from recording the assault, and confiscated phones belonging to some of the traders. The phones were destroyed there and then.”

When asked what could have led to the developments, the trader said the former chairman was doing everything to block a probe into his land deals when he was in office.

“What happened was that the government gave the traders land for an expansion of the market.

“However, Umeh hijacked the land and started selling the portions off as personal property.

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“His successor took the matter to court in order to recover the land; that’s why he has been fighting since then, as the incumbent chairman also vowed to pursue the matter in court,” he further alleged.

The traders appealed to Governor Soludo to intervene in the matter in order to avoid a total breakdown of law and order as well as shedding of blood.

It was also gathered that the incumbent chairman and some others who were brutalized during the invasion are currently receiving treatment in different hospitals in the state.

Efforts to obtain reaction from Umeh were not successful as of the time of filing this report as he neither answered calls nor responded to text message sent to him.