Sunday, who hails from Uzebba
in Edo State but lived in Ogijo, was arrested after his 12-year-old son took
what he felt was a metal object, but which was a gun, to a scrap buyer to get
money to eat.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, the boy
was said to have picked the metal object under a chair in the apartment where
he lived with his father when he was sweeping.
It was gathered that the scrap buyer, who
discovered that the object brought for sale was a gun, felt that it was a setup
to get him arrested, so he quickly went to security agents to inform them. The
boy was arrested, while those who knew his father quickly informed him.
The father and son were taken to Ogijo
police station, from where they were transferred to the Anti-Cultism Squad
unit, led by CSP Sunday Daramola, at Eleweran in Abeokuta, for further
investigation.
The spokesperson of the command, SP Omolola
Odutola, who confirmed the arrest, said that the recovered gun was painted in
blue, signifying the colour identity known with Eiye cult gro
Explaining how he got entangled with the
police, the suspect’s son said: “I was sweeping the sitting room when I noticed
something under one of the chairs. I saw that it was a metal object, so I took
it to those buying scraps to get money to survive on. To my surprise, instead
of paying, the potential buyer took me to the police station to report me. It
was there I learnt that the object was a gun.
“My father was called and was asked of the
owner of the gun. He confessed to being the owner, saying that it was given to
him by those he was working with in land grabbing. I didn’t know about the job,
I only knew he was working in a place where diesel is sold.
“We were transferred from the Ogijo
Division to the Criminal Investigation Department, Eleweran, Abeokuta, for
further investigation.”
Speaking about his background, the boy
revealed: “I only knew my mother when I was still a child. She left home
someday with my two siblings who are females and left me behind. I was about
five years old then. I don’t know where she is now.
“Since then, I have been with my father but he was not taking care of me very
well. I stopped schooling and started to train to become a mechanic. I started
three months ago. My boss used to buy food for me sometimes when I was hungry.
My father would not come home sometimes, so I would sleep in hunger. He used to
give me money for feeding sometimes, but not enough to take care of hunger.
"My father once used cutlass to beat
me, giving me injury on the head. He thought I was the one who took his money
which my mother went away with. People helped me to take care of the injury.
“My father used to take hard drugs such as
marijuana, loud and Colorado. I used to leave our apartment whenever he was
smoking. He used to take alcohol called Shine Your Eyes and Blackhood. He also
used to come home with different women.”
The minor appealed to be allowed to go and
stay with a woman who formerly lived in their neighbourhood and was taking care
of him along with her children since he couldn’t see his mother to return to.
“My mother is an Igbo woman. I would have
loved to go and stay with her and my siblings, but I don’t know where she is.
The woman who was formerly living in Ogijo has moved to Lagos with her
children. If I can’t get my mother, I will like to stay with her,” the boy
said.
The father, Sunday, however, said that his
son was just telling some lies against him, as he took care of him to the best
of his ability, and was not taking hard drugs but only alcohol.
The suspect confessed to being a member of
Eiye Confraternity, disclosing that he joined the illegal group to work with
land grabbers who are also leaders and members of the cult group.
The suspect, aged 42, said that he worked
as a welder before joining the cult group two years ago.
Concerning the ‘iron rod’ that turned out
to be a gun which was found under a chair in his apartment by his son, the
suspect said: “It is true that I belong to Eiye cult group and was given the
gun. I joined others two years ago after I was introduced to it by a man called
Ibaka. He is our spiritual man.
"The Number One in the cult group is
Majasola, who is also into land sale and has followers. They are called
ajagungbale (land grabbers), and I was told that I would not be allowed to join
them if I was not initiated into the Eiye Confraternity.
“I was called by some of the land grabbers
who referred to themselves as Omo onile. They said the land was owned by
their late father and since they didn’t get any job after graduating, they
decided to be in charge of the sale. They told me that it’s not an easy job,
and I must belong to their cult group before I would work with them
“I was taken inside a bush at Agbowa after
I was blindfolded. I was given water to drink and they brought some kolanuts.
They made a pronouncement that I belong to Eiye cult group from that day. I was
given a bird name, Kingfisher. My godfather, called Agbara, was the one who
gave me orientation. I usually went with them to land sites to confront their
opponents. They usually used guns and other weapons to scare them off.
“I used to follow them to sites to sell
land. We were always between 15 and 20 in number. We were Majasola’s boys, and
he always took us along whenever he wanted to go to sites. He had a defence man
called Bayo. He’s from Ikorodu and the second-in-command. In 2023, I got almost
a plot of land free and some amount of money as my reward, and I started
constructing a building.
“The gun was given to me by my godfather. I
was told to bring it to the site on a particular day. When I got home, my son
was not around. I hid it under the chair.
“I was surprised when I was called while at
work and told of my son’s arrest. I confessed to owning the gun and wondered
how the boy laid his hand on it. I went to the police station and thereafter
called my godfather. He promised to come to the station. From Ogijo Division,
we were transferred to the Anti-Cultism Squad at the State Criminal
Investigation Department, Eleweran, Abeokuta.”
The suspect denied taking drugs but only
alcoholic drinks. He however admitted bringing women to the apartment he was
living with his son.
“Yes, I bring babes into my apartment
instead of lodging them in a guest house. And my son doesn’t stay in the same
room. He sleeps in the parlour while I use the bedroom,” he explained..
He said that he usually got between N60,000
and N150,000 as his share each time he went to site with others.
“I joined cultism to benefit from land
grabbing,” he said.
He denied using cutlass to beat his son,
saying that the boy got injured when he fell from a mango while trying to pluck
its fruits, and the stick being thrown at the tree by others hit his head.
He said it was his son who decided to be a
mechanic apprentice as he was in school before.
“My son dey tell lie so much. Na me born
am, na me know am,” the suspect added.
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