From: Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Thirty suspected cultists, who were arrested in various parts of Anambra State have been counseled and freed after investigation by the Special Anti Cultism Squad (SPACS) of the state’s Police Command.
Urging them to be of good behaviour as they pledged, SPACS Commander, Mr. Christopher Bassey, pleaded with their parents to always monitor the kind of company their children keep adding, “not when the father is in Port Harcourt, the mother is in Asaba and the children will be left alone in the parents’ home in Onitsha”
“On daily basis we arrest at least 10 suspected cultists because we go out after them. We carry the raid to their hideout and that is why we have been succeeding in the war against cultism”
“The hardened ones when arrested we arraign in court and any one found with firearms, guns, we transfer to Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, and those without serious involvement in cultism we counsel for days, weeks to help place them under monitoring and like you can see, after the counseling they will realize that what they were involved in, cultism is not beneficial to them but will rather endanger their health as a result of the influence of hard drug they consume”
The freed cultists, in turn, have thanked the SPACS Commander for saving their lives and bringing them back to the society as responsible persons.
Thanking the SPACS on behalf of the cult members, a 300 level student in one of the tertiary institutions in the state, who pleaded anonymity said, “God will bless the SPACS Commander, Mr. Christopher Bassey, a Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, for making us to come back normal through counseling not torturing, as useful members of the society”.
“I was personally arrested over cultism related offence and after investigation and counseling which lasted for three days, I was freed and so I came back with some of the counseled ones to thank Mr Bassey and his men for returning us to a responsible life and we pledge not to deviat again.
“We thank Oga Bassey and his men for saving our lives. We are not the first batch that came with our parents/guardians but from what I see about 30 counseled and freed suspects come back in batches or individually to say thank you sir for changing our lives for the better”, he stated further.