RismadarVoice Reporters, August 10, 2026
Akwa Ibom State Police Command has recovered a stolen Toyota Hilux and arrested a 21-year-old suspected cultist in separate operations in Uyo.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, saying the operations were part of the Command’s sustained efforts to tackle cultism, vehicle theft and other criminal activities in the state.
According to the statement, police operatives on routine patrol on August 7 sighted two men in a Toyota Hilux with registration number NYA 399 AA, which had been reported stolen the previous day on Udo Eduok Street, off Aka Road, Uyo.
The suspects reportedly fled when they sighted the police and abandoned the vehicle along a non-motorable road before escaping into the bush.
The vehicle was subsequently recovered and identified by the owner, Mr Reginald, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
In a separate operation later that night, police operatives conducting stop-and-search along Abak Road, by the Federal Secretariat, Uyo, arrested 21-year-old Emmanuel Emmanson, a native of Mkpat Enin Local Government Area.
Three live cartridges were reportedly recovered from the suspect.
Police said preliminary investigation indicated that Emmanson allegedly confessed to being a member of the Black Axe Confraternity and claimed that the cartridges were intended for a cult initiation exercise in a bush.
The suspect remains in police custody as investigation continues, with efforts underway to identify and arrest other suspected members of the group.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, commended the operatives for their vigilance and professionalism, assuring residents that the Command would sustain intelligence-led and proactive policing operations across the state.
He also urged members of the public to promptly report suspicious persons, vehicles and activities to the police.
