Police arrest suspected cultist, recover human skull

The police in Akwa Ibom State have arrested a suspected cultist and recovered several items, including a human skull.

In a statement on Monday, the police spokesperson in the state, Timfon John, said that, besides being a cultist, the suspect, Pius Pius, is also a vandal who specialises in vandalising transformers in some parts of the state.

He was arrested on Sunday in Oku Abak, Abak Local Government Area of the state.

“During interrogation, Mr Pius confessed to being a member of the Iceland Confraternity, a group reportedly involved in the destruction of critical public infrastructure.

“A search of his room led to the recovery of the following items: a human skull, ⁠one transformer step-down insulator, one circuit breaker, one electric meter, and ⁠fuses,” Ms John, a deputy superintendent of police, said.

Vandals and cultism

The police in the state have reported a surge in cases of vandalism, particularly electricity cables and transformers.

Last week, this newspaper reported that the police arrested suspected vandals and thieves in the state. 

About three weeks ago, suspected vandals were arrested with several items, including copper and aluminium electricity cables recovered from them.

The incessant vandalism of public infrastructure in the state has angered Governor Umo Eno, who called on the police to step up efforts to confront it.

Mr Eno, in January, frowned at the spate of vandalism of public facilities in the state, particularly electricity transformers.

The governor, who was receiving the new commissioner of police in the state, said that besides the huge costs the government bears in replacing them, it also hinders rural development, a major focal point of his administration after agriculture.

Besides vandals, the police have also arrested several suspected cultists in the state lately, years after the state government proscribed over 30 cult groups in the state.

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The state government in 2021 threatened to shut down hotels and entertainment centres in the state linked to cultism and criminal activities.

“This decision is informed by credible intelligence that hotel owners and proprietors of entertainment centres have given their premises to cult groups and other criminal gangs to use as their base,” the state government had said in a statement.

The decision came about three years after the state government proscribed over 30 cult groups in the state, including Vikings Confraternity and Icelanders, whose members were arrested by the police last week and this week.