The Edo State Police Command has intensified its crackdown on cult-related violence, arresting five suspected members of the Neo Black Movement (NBM), popularly known as Aye, and recovering a cache of locally fabricated firearms allegedly linked to an ongoing cult rivalry.
In one of the operations, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit arrested Andrew Friday, 27, on August 7, 2026, at Akpakpava, Benin City, after three locally made Beretta pistols were allegedly discovered concealed inside unripe plantains packed in an abandoned sack.
The sack was reportedly prepared for shipment to Benue State.
Police said Friday confessed to being a member of the Aye cult group and claimed that the firearms were handed to him by a man identified simply as Bance, said to be from Iyanomo community.
According to the suspect, the weapons were allegedly being taken to Benue State for repairs before being returned for use in an ongoing cult conflict.
In a separate intelligence-led operation at Egbaen Community, off Ekenhuan Road, Benin City, operatives of the Anti-Cultism and Anti-Kidnapping Units, working alongside the Government House Task Force, arrested four additional suspected Aye cultists.
The suspects were identified as Nuka Joseph, 27; Osatohamwen Ogor, 30; John Osewengie, 30; and Osezee Osayi, 29.
A search of the suspects reportedly led to the recovery of **four locally fabricated pistols, one locally made Beretta pistol and one cut-to-size double-barrel gun.
Police said the four suspects also confessed to membership of the Aye cult group.
The arrests represent another significant blow against cultism and the proliferation of illegal firearms in Edo State, as security operatives step up efforts to dismantle criminal networks and prevent further bloodshed linked to rival cult groups.
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