Five People Arrested at Kogi Poly, Suspected Cultists, Others

The Kogi State Polytechnic’s administration announced on Wednesday that five alleged cultists had been taken into custody.

Tuesday during the ongoing second semester exam for the 2023–2024 school year saw the suspects apprehended.

The polytechnic’s spokesperson, Uredo Omale, revealed this in a statement. He stated that three students were also detained by the school’s security team for allegedly selling hard narcotics among other offenses.

He named the suspects as Ajayi Oluwaseun Oladipo (matriculation number:2022/HND/BUS/275), Isenre Elijah Ayomide (matriculation number:2022/HND/BUS/146), and Omonijo Sunday (matriculation number:2022/HND/BUS/181). He described the suspects as HND II students in the Department of Business Administration.

The statement said, “Otitoju Christopher, Babatope Ayomide, Isaiah Babatunde, Shina Ayodeji, and Makinde Olalekan are the five (5) non-students who were arrested. They are all from Ekiti State but are based in Abuja.”

“The suspects’ arrest was the outcome of proactive measures implemented by the institution’s management to thwart the infiltration of cultists and other prohibited groups and individuals. It was reported that these groups and individuals were preparing to enter the campus armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, working in collusion with some cybercrime suspects, a.k.a. Yahoo.

“It was learned that their intention was to injure their targets and create disturbances on campus while the second semester exam was still in progress.”

View the entire statement below:

The Kogi Poly Security Team apprehends suspected drug dealers and cultists during a continuing examination in the second semester.

Turns over suspects to law enforcement

Amidst the ongoing second-semester test for the 2023/2024 academic session, Kogi State Polytechnic Lokoja’s combined security team detained three (3) students and five (5) others on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, on suspicion of being members of a secret society and hard drug dealers.

The following HND II students from the Department of Business Administration have been apprehended:

Isenre Elijah Ayomide (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/146), Omonijo Sunday (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/181), and Ajayi Oluwaseun Oladipo (Matric No.2022/HND/BUS/275).

The five non-students that were detained are Otitoju Christopher, Babatope Ayomide, Isaiah Babatunde, Shina Ayodeji, and Makinde Olalekan. They are all from Ekiti State but reside in Abuja.

The suspects were apprehended due to proactive measures implemented by the university’s management to prevent the infiltration of cultists and other prohibited groups and individuals. It was reported that these individuals were planning to enter the campus armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, possibly with the help of some cybercrime suspects, also known as Yahoo.

It was learned that their intention was to hurt their targets and create disturbances on campus while the second semester exam was still in progress.

This was done under the pretense of their graduation “celebration” rites at the end of the examination, which the management had previously forbidden owing to security concerns.

Ahead of the current second semester exam, the Polytechnic Management received intelligence reports indicating that some bad actors, suspected of being involved in cybercrime, cults, and illegal drug sales, had developed a plan to bring in members from other states and universities to wreck havoc on campus.

Management made the decision to step up further security measures in order to stop the incident, outlawing the administration of any kind of second-semester assessment on campus.

The Chief Security Officer duly sent out a circular outlining the prohibited actions before, during, and after the exam to the students, informing them of this decision.

The circular was released following several meetings with the departmental presidents, the Students Union Government (SUG), and the National Association of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS) to raise awareness among the students and advise them to refrain from acting in an unfavorable manner during the exam for their own benefit.

In addition, the Polytechnic Management held meetings and established the Examination Security Management Committee, whose members included the Chief Security Officer (CSO), Student Representatives, the Chief Imam, the Polytechnic Chaplain, and all Deans. The committee was tasked with developing security plans to prevent the planned infiltration of malicious actors and guarantee the smooth administration of exams.

Additionally, officers from security agencies like the Vigilante Group, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), and Nigeria Police were dispatched to provide their services.

Preventing students from using their cars and motorcycles outside of the campus’s designated car park during the exam was one of the Committee’s key supplementary proactive security strategies.

In addition, every car was inspected carefully, and additional security officers in civilian clothes were sent to watch on anyone who shouldn’t have been on campus during the exam.

The three (3) students and their five (5) foreign mercenaries were apprehended as a result of these security measures and efforts.

On Monday, July 15, 2024, when the Department of Public Administration HND II students were writing their final paper, the Polytechnic Management began to notice a concerning trend.

The management received an intelligence report about the infiltration of some well-known former students from the 2018–2019 school year who are thought to be cultists, along with some hired goons from Edo and Delta states who arrived that day to cause mayhem by driving in a motorcade and spraying naira notes while seated on the highway.

During this time, gunfire was heard coming from the “Always Petrol station” next to the Polytechnic main entrance, where the foreign mercenaries were reportedly billeted because the campus’s security measures made it uncomfortable for them to be there.

More security measures were implemented in advance of Tuesday, July 16, 2024, when HND II students from the Department of Accountancy, Library and Information Sciences, and Business Administration were due to write their final examinations, in order to avert a recurrence of the Monday incident.

The arrest of the three (3) students and their hired mercenaries, who claimed to be from Ekiti State but were based in Abuja, was made possible by the security arrangement and tip-off.

While in their motorcade, the suspects were stopped at the Polytechnic gate’s main entrance. On the other hand, the second car’s driver leaped out and fled.

The contents of the two(2) intercepted cars included a beret cap with a symbol thought to be belonging to a cult group, papers cut to size ostensibly for packaging drugs, and some suspected hard drugs wrapped in a polythene bag.

The Nigeria Police at the “B” Division in Lokoja received the items recovered from the apprehended suspects, which included two cars: a black Toyota Lexus saloon with registration number from EBONYI STATE “SKA – 78 – AE” and a light green Mercedes Benz saloon with registration number from EKITI STATE “MUE – 598 – AE.” Other items included various types of drugs, remnants of some N14000 naira notes, a beret cap with a symbol suspected to be that of a cult, and an MP3 player.The Polytechnic was known for its cult parades at the conclusion of each session, during which cult groups would show off their strength by shooting at targets and killing them. In the past, lecturers, administration, and other staff would flee the campus out of fear for their lives, as cultists operated with impunity during this time. This was before Professor Salisu Ogbo Usman took over as the institution’s current leader.

On the Polytechnic campus, a lecturer was fatally stabbed during this time.

Since the present Rector took over four years ago, Kogi State Polytechnic has seen a cessation of all those social vices and inappropriate behavior.

The Rector and his management group successfully addressed security issues by taking a proactive stance all the time.

It appears that the infamous groups that were previously ruling the school like gods have been driven out.

The Rector praised the Joint Security team, the Intelligence team, and the Examination Security Management Committee for their well-executed coordination in spotting the potentially deadly intent early on.

Using this opportunity, the Rector also warned the ND II students to be on the lookout for any bad elements that might infiltrate their group and to report them to the Management via the Security Unit.

The Rector also cautioned parents and guardians to be wary of their children and wards by closely monitoring their behavior, the acquisition of material goods without known sources of income, the kinds of companies they associate with, and their movement away from involvement in criminal activities. This is because individuals who are discovered within the Polytechnic’s confines and who exhibit undesirable characteristics will not be spared.

Additionally, he issued a warning to anyone interested in visiting the school for cult activities or other associated social vices: stay away or risk facing the full force of the law.

Uredo Omale

Director, Public Relations and Protocol.

Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.