The Edo State Police Command has intensified its crackdown on cultism and criminal activities through sustained visibility policing, community engagement, and strategic raids on identified blackspots across the state.
In a coordinated operation conducted on June 4, 2025, between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., operatives of the Command raided several criminal hideouts within Benin City. The operation led to the arrest of 28 suspects, who were professionally screened. Nineteen of them, found to be implicated in criminal activities, were promptly charged to court.
Further reinforcing its anti-cultism campaign, the Command has commenced house-to-house arrests of identified cult members. During this ongoing operation, three suspects were apprehended from different locations in the state. Upon interrogation, they confessed to being members of the Eiye and Aye confraternities. All three suspects have since been arraigned in court.
The Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Monday Agbonika, fdc, reiterated the Command’s resolve to rid the state of cult-related violence and criminality. He warned cult members to either denounce their affiliations and turn a new leaf, relocate from the state, or face the full consequences of the law as enshrined in the Edo State Secret Cult and Related Activities (Prohibition) Law.
CP Agbonika expressed confidence that the current security measures would reassure the public and significantly reduce crime rates across Edo State.
The Command encouraged residents to provide credible information and report suspicious activities through its dedicated lines:
Control Room: 08037646272 / 08077773721
Public Complaints Bureau (PCB): 08150999335
Complaints Response Unit (CRU): 08100389992