He said that the gang admitted to obtaining human blood after killing an elderly man and disposing of his body near the Jaji military cantonment in the nearby Igabi Local Government Area. The suspected ritualists, who included both new and old members, were captured while initiating the new members.
Nine accused ritualists operating under the moniker “Neo Black Movement,” or NBM, were apprehended by the Kaduna State Police Command along with a full jerry can of human blood.
Along the Zaria-Kaduna motorway, at a cemetery in Dutsen Abba Ward, the suspected ritualists were apprehended.
The arrest was verified on Sunday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansur Hussaini.
Hussaini claimed that their arrest came about as a result of a tip-off, in which a source informed the service formation that a group of persons had been spotted at the specified cemetery, causing Saye Lowcost Division to be notified.
He continued by stating that the following people had been detained on suspicion of participating in ritual activities: Samson Ezekiel (32), Samuel Francis (27), Usman Nura (34), Gabriel Sheba (23), Haruna Sa’id (37), and Bala Lukman (27) and Jabir Rilwan (37).
After conducting a search on their car, a Lexus sedan with the registration number RSH 712 CW, two handguns made locally, one Beretta handgun, two jacket knives, two calabashes, and a jerrycan filled with human blood were found, according to the PPRO.
He said that the gang admitted to obtaining human blood after killing an elderly man and disposing of his body near the Jaji military cantonment in the nearby Igabi Local Government Area. The suspected ritualists, who included both new and old members, were captured while initiating the new members.
The suspects also admitted that the man’s essential bodily parts had been severed, but that another gang from Kaduna had taken them away.
He said that two more suspects were arrested by the locals at the ABU Congo Conference Hotels, along the old Jos road, after the seven suspected ritualists were apprehended along the Zaria-Kaduna motorway. He emphasised that the suspects are Austin Ifinju, a 28-year-old Yoruba man from Ondo State, and Aliyu Ali Yahaya, a 24-year-old resident of Hadu Nasko road in Abuja. Agatu by ethnicity and an ABU Samaru student.
The arrest was confirmed by the Command’s public relations officer, ASP Mansur Hussaini, who also stated that investigations are still on.