Three suspects are now in custody following coordinated operations by the Imo State Police Command aimed at curbing armed violence and cultism in the state. The arrests, made between July 26 and 29, 2025, led to the recovery of multiple locally fabricated pistols and exposed potential threats to public peace.
One of the suspects, Reuben Casmir Chibuike, aged 25, was arrested after a female student of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, whose name was withheld, reported a violent threat to her life. Acting swiftly, officers tracked Chibuike to his residence at Kings Lodge, Umuokomoche Nekede. A search of his room revealed a locally made pistol. He later confessed to being a member of the Aiye Confraternity and is currently under interrogation by the Anti-Cult Unit.
On July 26, during a routine stop-and-search operation at Agbala on Aba Road, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad intercepted 32-year-old Stanley Uzoma from Ngor-Okpala LGA. A locally made pistol was discovered on him. Uzoma claimed he “picked it up from the roadside,” a defense the police described as implausible, pending further investigation.
Another suspect, 28-year-old Paul Nnamdi from Ebonyi State, was arrested after attempting to flee from officers conducting a stop-and-search operation along the Owerri–Port Harcourt Road. Police chased him down and recovered a cut-to-size pistol hidden inside a large sack he was carrying. His suspicious movement and subsequent escape attempt raised alarms that led to his arrest.
All suspects are being held for illegal possession of firearms and potential cult-linked activity. Police sources confirm that investigations are ongoing and the suspects will be charged in court once preliminary inquiries are completed.
Spokesperson DSP Henry Okoye lauded the vigilance of the operatives, emphasizing the importance of community cooperation in intelligence gathering. He urged residents to report any suspicious individuals or movements to aid proactive policing across the state.
Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma, praised the officers for their bravery and re-emphasized the force’s commitment to rooting out armed criminal elements from Imo communities, adding that such recoveries are part of a broader operation to dismantle cultist and gun-running networks in the region.
