The security team of the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, has arrested eight suspected cultists and hard drug peddlers during the ongoing second semester examination of the institution.

This is contained in a statement by the institution’s Director, Public Relations and Protocol, Uredo Omale, in Lokoja on Wednesday.

Ms Omale stated that three students of the institution were among the eight suspects arrested while the remaining five were non-students from Ekiti State but based in Abuja.

According to her, the three students are all in HND II in the Department of Business Administration.

Mr Omale said that the eight arrested suspects had been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.

“Their arrest was as a result of proactive measures put in place by the management of the Kogi Polytechnic to checkmate invasion of the institution by cultists and other outlawed groups and individuals. They were reported to be planning to enter the campus with guns and other dangerous weapons in connivance with some cyber-crime suspects popularly known as yahoo yahoo. Their intent, it was gathered, was to cause harm to their targets and commotion on the campus during the ongoing second semester examination. This was in the guise of their end-of- examination graduation “celebration” rituals which the mManagement had earlier banned due to security concerns,” Ms Omale stated.

She said that the suspects were intercepted at the main entrance of the polytechnic gate while in a motorcade.

“The driver of the second car, however, jumped out of the vehicle and escaped,” the institution’s spokesperson said.

Some of the suspects, Ms Omale said, had hard drugs wrapped in a polythene bag, papers cut to sizes supposedly for wrapping of drugs.

“One beret cap with a symbol suspected to be that of a cult group was also seen in the car and in possession of the occupants of the two (2) intercepted cars. In all, the items recovered from the apprehended suspects include two cars, a light green coloured Mercedes Benz Saloon with Reg. Number: Ekiti State “MUE – 598 – AE” and a black coloured Toyota Lexus Saloon with Reg. Number from: Ebonyi State “SKA – 78 – AE.

“Others were different types of drugs, some naira notes amounting to N14000, beret cap with a symbol suspected to be that of a cult and an MP3 player were handed over to the Nigeria Police at the ‘B’ Division in Lokoja,” she said.

Speaking about the incident, the Rector, Prof Salisu Usman, reaffirmed the commitment of the institution’s management team to constantly adopt a proactive approach to tackling security challenges effectively.

The rector commended the efforts of the Examination Security Management Committee, the Joint Security team and the Intelligence Team for a job well done.

He also used admonished the students to be vigilant of any bad elements that might infiltrate their ranks

The rector further advised parents and guardians to pay close attention to their children’s behaviours and ask questions about their material acquisition without known sources of income.

(NAN)