Police arrest three secondary school students over suspected cult initiation in Ogun

Three secondary school students, including a 12-year-old boy, have been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command over a suspected cult initiation in Owode-Yewa.

The suspects, aged 12, 18 and 18, were arrested following intelligence that students from different secondary schools in the area were planning a cult-related activity tagged “Kito Day”.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, said the Divisional Police Officer in Owode-Yewa received the information on Thursday and swiftly deployed detectives to the scene in collaboration with the Vigilante Group of Nigeria.

The operation led to the arrest of the three students and the recovery of one English axe, two knives, a short cutlass, a rubber toy gun and a school bag.

Babaseyi said the case would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta, for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The arrest comes amid growing concerns over the spread of cultism in secondary schools across Ogun State.

Earlier in the week, operatives of the police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit arrested a 30-year-old suspected cultist, Idris Obarayi, in Abeokuta and recovered a locally made pistol following a distress report about gunfire in the Oke Ago-Owu area.

In a bid to address the problem, the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) has intensified sensitisation programmes in schools.

The initiative recently involved stakeholders at the 2026 All Youth/Secondary Schools Leadership Summit in Ifo, where nearly 180 students participated.

The police have urged parents, guardians and school heads to closely monitor young people's activities and promptly report suspicious gatherings to the authorities.