Police Arrests 14 Pupils For Cult-related Activities In Edo State

The police in Edo State have arrested 14 Junior Secondary School pupils for alleged involvement in cult-related activities in Benin, the state capital.

It was learnt that the pupils, aged between 12 and 15, were nabbed when a team of policemen stormed Oguola Secondary School at Saint Saviour in the Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the state on Thursday.

According to a source in the school, eight of the suspects were apprehended at "flash
spots" on the school premises.

Their arrest, it was learnt, prompted the police to conduct a search on some pupils in the classrooms and items believed to be emblems of cult groups were recovered from them.

It was also learnt that reports made against some pupils in the school by some parents
were responsible for the arrest.

However, the Principal of school, identified as
Ehanire, appealed to the police command to release those found to be innocent.

Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Stephen Onwochei, were
unsuccessful.

It was, however, learnt that the 14 suspects were undergoing questioning at the
Department of Criminal Investigation, Benin.