The Anambra State Police Command has taken two young men into custody over their alleged involvement in a cult group operating in Enugwu Ukwu, Njikoka Local Government Area.
The suspects, identified as 21-year-old Oluebube Ifediorah and 25-year-old Offorbuike Emmanuel, were arrested on Thursday by officers of the Special Anti-Cult Squad after the police received credible intelligence suggesting that a violent confrontation between rival cult groups was being planned in the area.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the arrests and disclosed that a locally fabricated double-barrel shotgun along with two live cartridges were recovered from the men.
According to him, the operatives moved swiftly to the location after receiving information in the early hours of December 4, 2025. While several suspected group members scattered into the nearby bush on sighting the security team, Ifediorah and Emmanuel were apprehended at the scene. The firearm, hidden in a red bag allegedly carried by Ifediorah, was seized as evidence.
Ikenga said efforts had intensified to trace and arrest the other fleeing members of the cult gang, adding that the operation forms part of ongoing strategies to stem cult-related violence and criminality across the State.
The Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, urged residents to continue supplying reliable information to support the command’s campaign against cultism and other offences.
This incident comes shortly after the command announced the arrest of seven suspected cult recruits allegedly being prepared for political thuggery ahead of the November 2025 governorship election. Those suspects were intercepted during what was reported to be an initiation ritual in a bush in Abagana, also in Njikoka LGA, where various ritual items were recovered.