The police and officials of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) have arrested 11 secondary school students suspected to be cultists. The suspects were allegedly terrorising members of the public with dangerous weapons in the state.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Olosan police station in Mushin, Adekunle Ominsakin, who confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Sunday, said all the suspects belonged to a cult group known as Gang Star.
Ominsakin said the suspects, who were between 17 and 18 years old, claimed the group has been in existence since 2013 operating in schools. “One of the suspects was brought to our station by LNSC on Friday. Our investigation led to the arrest of 10 other students, including a female student,” Omisankin said.
Spokesperson for the Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps, Adewale Afolabi, said they had also arrested a JSS3 student, who was allegedly terrorising members of the public with dangerous weapons such as knives and machetes.
Afolabi said the suspect, who resides at No. 243, Agege Motor Road, Ojuwoye in Mushin, was alleged to be a student of a secondary school in Igbo Owu, Kwara State.
“He had been terrorising the people and students of the area. The LNSC operational team arrested the suspect following intelligence information from members of the public. He confessed to the crime and also exposed his 16-member gang by giving their names and hideouts to the LNSC.”
Afolabi said the suspect had been transferred to the Olosan Police Station, Mushin for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Kayode Omiyale, has charged members of the Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) in the council area to ensure that children of school age stay in schools irrespective of their parental background.
“Children that live within this local government area must be enrolled in schools, whether they live with their biological parents or with a guardian,” he said.
According to the chairman, “it has been observed that when we send only our biological children to school to the detriment of those who help to train the children, we are creating everlasting enmity in the future. It is the determination of this administration to ensure that hawking within the Mainland Local Government, which includes Yaba LCDA is totally outlawed and that is why we want to put every children of school age in school.”
Omiyale said a vehicle would be provided by his administration with little token to assist the PTA members to monitor children from street to street, house to house by encouraging their parents to send their children or wards to school.
Chairman of the PTA, Olusoji Adams, thanked the council boss for the opportunities he has offered and urged him to provide the necessary logistics necessary to monitor compliance.
