Ekiti cult killings: Police arrests 34 more suspects

The clash which left 6 persons dead and several others sustaining varied degrees of gun and machetes injuries happened between the night of Saturday and the early hours of Sunday,

ASP Sunday Abutu, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, who confirmed the additional arrests to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Monday, said those newly arrested made the total number of suspects so far in the command’s custody to rise to 45.

According to him, a combined team of security forces drafted when news of the attack got to the command, was able to restore peace to the town, while street patrol has continued.

This is coming just as information emerged that the number of casualties might have risen to 12, from the initial six that were confirmed dead by the police on Sunday.

Police, however, maintained on Monday that only six bodies were recovered, but sources said some of those who sustained serious injuries had also died before the early hours of Monday.

TrackNews Online reports that police had earlier on Sunday announced the arrest of an initial batch of 10 suspects, in connection with the brutal killings.

Abutu had said on Sunday that the clash occurred between Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday.

He said the bloody cult clash was caused by “rivalry and show of strength” between the two cult groups.