Lagos Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni

Lagos State Police Command says it has begun screening of 138 suspected members of a dreaded cult group, Badoo, arrested on Saturday in Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

The command’s spokesperson, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said that the command had embarked on screening of the suspects to identify those directly involved in the criminal activities in Ikorodu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the police, in conjunction with members of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC), on Saturday raided the hideouts of suspected members of the group.

NAN reports that members of Badoo have been terrorising residents of the state, especially in Ikorodu axis.

Members of the group were fingered in the recent violent killings in Ikorodu axis, a development which prompted angry mob to embark on lynching of some suspected members of the group.

NAN also reports that residents of the area had on Friday lynched a suspected member of the group on the Ikorodu-Mile 12 Expressway.

The police team, in the operation which started on Saturday morning, moved around Ikorodu axis and combed the suspected hideouts of the members of the gang from street to street.

Famous-Cole said: “We carried out the raid based on information and 138 suspects were arrested.

“Screening is ongoing and those with no tangible explanation will be charged to court.”

Famous-Cole said that the issue of confessions of the suspects as alleged in the some social media does not arise as the screening of the suspects has yet to be concluded.

Also, the Chairman, Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency, retired DIG Israel Ajao, said that the agency would adopt the traditional methodology to unravel the mystery behind  the cult killings.

Ajao said the killings had a ritual undertone, adding that there was need for security operatives to go beyond the conventional approach in tackling the ritual killings.

Lagos State Government has cautioned residents to desist from carrying out jungle justice on any suspected members of the gang.

Famous-Cole had said, “Government is on top of the situation and we like to use this medium to caution the people to desist from jungle justice.’’

(NAN)