About 100 suspected members of the dreaded Badoo Boys cult have been arrested during a joint raid on the group’s hideouts by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of Lagos State Police Command, Anti-Robbery operatives, members of the Oodua peoples Congress, OPC, and members of vigilante groups in Ikorodu.
Members of the cult had laid siege to Ikorodu and environs, unleashing an orgy of killings, during which they used heavy stones to crush the skulls of their victims. Reliable Police sources yesterday, quoted a suspected member of the dreaded Badoo cult group as saying that each ritual handkerchief used to clean victims’ blood after operation was sold for N500,000 to herbalists and some prominent Nigerians for money rituals. According to the source, the suspects are still being quizzed to determine their level of involvement and those who patronize them. Yesterday’s raid followed a meeting between the National Co-ordinator of Oodua Peoples’ Congress, Chief Gani Adams, and Onyabo leaders, with security chiefs in the state last Friday. Areas where the joint raid, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, Edgar Imohimi, were made included Ibeshe, Ita-Maga, Ijede, Ipakodo, Igbogbo/Bayeku and Imota, among others. Sources revealed that some of the suspects confessed to be mere errand boys, adding that their use of grinding stones in killing victims was to ensure efficacy of the money rituals. At the last count, over 30 persons, among them, family members, including toddlers, have had life snuffed out of them by the dreaded Badoo boys. Their modus operandi included storming victims’ residences while they are asleep. It is suspected that they usually hypnotized their victims, as none of them, except during last week’s operation at Odogunyan, had ever been conscious of their presence. They would, thereafter, smash victims’ heads with a grinding stone and use a handkerchief to clean the blood and brain before leaving the scene. They usually left without taking any valuables.
Spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Olarinde Famous-Cole who confirmed the arrest, said: “We can confirm the arrest of 100 suspected members of the dreaded cult group, Badoo, and they are helping with on-going investigations into the activities of the gang. Famous-Cole, who added that over 40 vehicles were used for the operation, also assured residents of their safety. “Residents should go about their activities without fear, as the Police and other security agencies in the state are poised to make the state uncomfortable and hot for criminal elements to perpetrate their nefarious activities. “The state government has cautioned residents to desist from carrying out jungle justice on suspected members of the gang, as government will leave no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators of any dastardly act to justice. “For some time now, members of the Badoo cult group have been fingered in violent killings in Ikorodu axis, a development which had prompted some suspected members of the group to be lynched through mob action. “Government is on top of the situation and we like to use this medium to caution the people to desist from jungle justice,’’ the PPRO said in a statement.
Reacting to the arrest, National Coordinator of the OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, explained how his group was drafted to assist in arresting some members of the Badoo gang, describing the joint operation as a welcome development. Adams, who commended the Commissioner of Police and his team, said the OPC was ready to complement the efforts of the Police in reducing crime to the barest minimum. His words: “We have to thank the Nigeria Police for summoning the courage in calling us to compliment their efforts. We were invited to a meeting by the Police last Wednesday and we discussed at length how the menace of the Badoo cult and other crimes perpetuated in Ikorodu can be curbed. “This is a welcome development because there is a lot of pressure from Nigerians, Yoruba people and the media on our group to step in and assist the Police. In 2016, we had informed Nigerians that if we were not invited by the Police to assist them in combating crime, we would not get ourselves involved. “We commend the efforts of the Commissioner of Police in Lagos and his team for summoning the courage. The meeting we held last week showed that the Police Command is eager and determined to reduce crime rate in Lagos State. “The discussion led us to convening a larger meeting of OPC coordinators in Ikorodu on Friday and it was concluded that there was need for us to move to Ikorodu to assist the Police in arresting the Badoo gang. Saturday’s joint operation was a successful one and it was led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Lagos. “In the process of the joint operation, about 65 to 75 suspected persons were arrested. With the joint operation and arrest, I know more information will come to our leaders in Ikorodu because of the confidence people have in them. “It is believed that because of the confidence, information will be passed by our leaders to the Police. We are ready to cooperate with security agencies although the OPC is not a security group; we are purely a socio-cultural group. “As a group, we are ready to assist the public when it is needful and we can do more to complement the efforts of the Police and security agencies. So, what happened over the weekend is a welcome development.”
