POLICE ARREST 11 OVER SUSPECTED CULT INITIATION NEAR UNICAL

The Cross River State Police Command has arrested 11 men following reports of a suspected cult initiation in a bush near the Engineering Department of the University of Calabar.

Police spokesperson ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata said the arrests took place on Thursday, October 22, after the university raised an alarm.

According to the command, officers from the Violent Crime Response Unit in Satellite Town, Calabar, responded at about 10:30 a.m. and worked with the university’s internal security personnel to cordon off the area.

The operation led to the arrest of the 11 suspects, aged between 21 and 27.

Police also recovered three motorcycles and a Lexus 350 saloon car reportedly abandoned by someone who fled the scene.

The command said the vehicles had been secured for investigation. Their connection to the alleged initiation had not yet been established.

Investigations are continuing to determine the circumstances surrounding the gathering and the individual roles, if any, of those arrested.

The police account did not establish that the suspects were students of the university. The allegations against them remain under investigation.