The Kaduna State Police Command has apprehended a group of nine suspected ritualists, purportedly affiliated with the ‘Neo Black Movement, NBM’, at a cemetery in Dutsen Abba Ward along the Zaria-Kaduna expressway. The arrest follows a tip-off received by authorities, leading to the interception of the suspects engaged in ritual activities.
Confirming the arrest, ASP Mansur Hussaini, the Public Relations Officer of the Command, revealed that the operation yielded the seizure of a jerry can filled with human blood from the scene, highlighting the severity of the alleged crimes being perpetrated.
The suspects, identified as Samson Ezekiel (32), Samuel Francis (27), Usman Nura (34), Gabriel Sheba (23), Haruna Sa’id (37), Bala Lukman (27), and Jabir Rilwan (37), were reportedly apprehended during an initiation ceremony involving new members of the group.
Upon conducting a search of the suspects’ vehicle, a Lexus sedan registered under RSH 712 CW, authorities uncovered two locally made pistols, a Beretta pistol, two jacket knives, two calabashes, and the aforementioned jerry can filled with human blood.
The suspects confessed to obtaining the human blood through the slaughter of an elderly man, whose body was disposed of near the Jaji military cantonment in neighboring Igabi Local Government Area. Furthermore, they admitted to dismembering the victim’s vital body parts, which were subsequently taken away by another gang based in Kaduna.
In addition to the initial seven suspects apprehended along the Zaria-Kaduna expressway, two additional individuals were detained by locals at ABU Congo Conference Hotels along the old Jos road. The suspects were identified as Austin Ifinju, a 28-year-old from Ondo State, and Yoruba by tribe, and Aliyu Ali Yahaya, a 24-year-old resident of Hadu Nasko road in Abuja, of Agatu ethnicity and a student of ABU Samaru.
ASP Mansur Hussaini reiterated that investigations are ongoing as authorities work diligently to unravel the full extent of the alleged ritualistic activities and bring all perpetrators to justice.
