The Niger State Police Command has arrested seven suspects in connection with cult-related activities at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, following the killing of a student earlier this year.
This was disclosed in a statement made available on Tuesday by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun.
The command recalled that on June 23, 2025, at about 3am, there was a report of an unfortunate attack on a student of the IBBUL identified as Abdulwahab Jafar, 23 years of Paiko at his lodge in the school, among other attacks leading to the loss of life of the said student.
According to the police, the June 23 incident sparked unrest in the Lapai community, prompting the deployment of tactical teams to restore normalcy. Subsequent investigations by the Command, jointly conducted by the Tactical Support Team and the Force Intelligence Department, led to the arrest of 19 persons across Lapai and other locations in the state.
Wasiu said the investigation was later narrowed down to seven suspects on charges including criminal conspiracy, robbery, unlawful society, internet fraud, possession of dangerous weapons, and suspected culpable homicide.
Abiodun said the suspects are ”Idris Hamza, 27, and Suleiman Damilare, 27, both of Maikunkele; Abdulsemiu Bashir, 23, of Lapai; Bawa Aliyu, 27, of Suleja; Yakubu Musa, 24, of Maikunkele; Samson Abbah, 28, of Rafin-Yanshi; and Solomon Musa, 28, of Maitumbi.”
Abiodun said Idris Hamza and Suleiman Damilare were arrested “on June 27 at Fadikpe with cannabis, charms, and local black soaps with a Toyota Corolla vehicle at one Abdullahi Ahmed a.k.a catch-up residence.
“The suspects confessed to members of Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM) and further confessed to having carried out a series of cultist activities in IBBUL such as initiation of members e.g Jolijoli and other members,’’ Abiodun said.
The statement added that Abdulsemiu Bashir, suspected to be a rival member of the group known as VIKINGS, was arrested in Lapai on June 29.
Police found him in possession of “16 SIM cards, POS machine and sum of seventy-seven thousand naira. He claimed that he bought the SIM cards from one Audu, another member of VIKINGS presently at large.
“The SIM cards were confirmed to be from stolen/robbed phones of victims,” Abiodun said.
Bawa Aliyu, Yakubu Musa, Samson Abbah, and Solomon Musa were also linked to cult-related robberies and attacks on students, the statement said.
According to Abiodun, “Samson Abbah “was also mentioned as the group Admin officer of their WhatsApp platform for Minna zone.
“The platform was named as ‘Men that matters’ before he changed it to ‘Football News’, where they discussed their nefarious activities,” Abiodun said.
Abiodun said investigation is ongoing, “and effort to identify either VIKINGS or NBM members responsible for the attack of the deceased is intensified, as it was established that the attack was cultists related.
“Further development will be made public.”
In a separate operation, three suspects were arrested for conspiracy and theft of motorcycles. On September 9, Bashir Yahaya, 23, of Fadikpe, was intercepted with a sack containing motorcycle parts.
“He confessed to having stolen two motorcycles from Fadikpe area and that he usually sells the parts at Sabon-Gari and Kasuwan-Gwari areas of Minna.
“Case is under investigation,” Abiodun said.
Earlier, on September 4, Lawali Bello, 27, of Iri Village, Rijau, was arrested for stealing a Bajaj motorcycle on September 2.
“A report was made at Rijau Div stating that on 2nd September 2025 around 10.30am, unknown persons invaded a residence at Iri Village and stole a Bajaj motorcycle.
“Police surveillance team of Rijau Div arrested one Lawali Bello 27yrs of the same village with the said Bajaj motorcycle.
“He confessed to the crime and he was charged to court for prosecution,” Abiodun said.
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