Police arrest six suspected cultists in Osogbo
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
The Osun State Police Command has arrested six suspected cultists during an intelligence-led operation in Osogbo, the state capital.
The suspects, identified as Idris Atilola, 22; Abeeb Shobowale, 31; Nasiru Jimoh, 32; Jamiu Tajudeen, 26; Tajudeen Okanlawon, 27; and Toheeb Abolubode, 18, were arrested by operatives of the Osogbo Area Command on October 8, 2026.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, saying the arrests followed intelligence gathering and raids on locations identified as vulnerable areas and criminal hotspots in Osogbo.
According to the statement, one of the suspects, Okanlawon, confessed to being initiated into the Aye confraternity in 2023 by a man identified as Lekan Lexy.
Ojelabi said the suspect further claimed that Lekan Lexy was killed by members of a rival cult group during the build-up to the recently concluded Osun governorship election.
The police spokesman said the six suspects had been charged to court, adding that the command would sustain its efforts to tackle cultism, drug-related offences and other criminal activities across the state.
“The suspects have been charged to court accordingly, while the command continues to intensify intelligence gathering and tactical operations to identify, apprehend and prosecute other individuals involved in cultism and other criminal activities across the state,” the statement read.
