The Cross River State Police Command has arrested 11 male suspects following a joint security operation targeting alleged cult initiation activities in a bush near the Engineering Department of the University of Calabar (UNICAL).
The operation, conducted on October 22, 2026, at about 10:30 a.m., followed a distress call from the university concerning suspected cult initiation activities in the area.
According to a press release issued on Friday by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, Satellite Town, Calabar, responded to the report and collaborated with the university’s internal security personnel to cordon off the location.
The operation led to the arrest of 11 suspects identified as Ogar Favour, 25; David Akpa, 27; Gift Emmanuel, 24; Aaron Favour, 24; David Abubu, 25; Victor Emmanuel Eyibo, 26; Oghenemaro Hendrix, 24; James Ede Joseph, 22; Charles Ekeng, 21; Edu Nkanu, 26; and Ogabor John Odey, 24.
The police said the suspects are being investigated to establish their individual roles and determine the circumstances surrounding the reported activity.
Items recovered during the operation included a Lexus 350 saloon car reportedly abandoned by an individual who fled the scene and three motorcycles. The recovered items have been secured for investigative purposes.
The Command, however, clarified that no connection between the recovered vehicles and the alleged cult related activity has been established at this stage.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Ajo Geoffrey Ordue, reiterated the Command’s commitment to combating cultism and other violent crimes through proactive policing, intelligence gathering and collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
He assured residents that the Command would continue to respond promptly to credible security information while ensuring that investigations are conducted professionally and in accordance with the law.
The police also urged members of the public to provide credible information that could assist security agencies in preventing crime and protecting lives and property.
Investigation into the incident is ongoing. The police emphasised that all the suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The statement was signed by ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, Police Public Relations Officer, for the Commissioner of Police, Cross River State Command, on October 23, 2026.
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