The Ondo State Police Command has arrested 25 suspected cultists in Uso community, Owo Local Government Area, after disrupting what detectives described as an initiation ceremony for new members of the Neo Black Movement (NBM), also known as Black Axe (Aye).
Police sources said the suspects — drawn from Ondo, Osun, Lagos and Edo states — were taken into custody during an intelligence-led operation launched after officers received a tip that the group planned to induct fresh members at a designated location in Uso.
According to the police spokesperson, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, the command acted on “credible intelligence from a concerned citizen” and deployed operatives using “intelligence-led tactics” to prevent the ceremony from holding.
“The operation resulted in the arrest of twenty-five (25) suspects… at the scene of the initiation,” Jimoh said, adding that the arrests were part of the command’s continuing onslaught against cult-related activities in the state.
Police also announced the recovery of one Toyota Highlander SUV and one unregistered Daylong motorcycle from the suspects. Investigators said the items were seized during the raid and are being processed as exhibits.
Jimoh said preliminary interrogations indicate the suspects have confessed to involvement in cult-related activities, and that they would be charged to court once investigations are concluded.
In a related update carried by local outlets, the command said the Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, commended officers for their swift response and professionalism, while reiterating that the police would sustain the anti-cultism campaign across Ondo.
The police urged young people to avoid cultism, warning that membership and related violence often lead to imprisonment or death, and called on residents to continue providing timely information to help security agencies prevent crime.
