The Delta State Police Command says it has foiled a suspected cult initiation ceremony in Orogun Community, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state, recovering firearms, ammunition, seven vehicles and other items.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday in Asaba.
According to the statement, the operation followed credible intelligence that members of the Black Axe Confraternity, also known as Aye, were conducting an initiation ceremony in a forest in Orogun.
Edafe said operatives of the Command’s Quick Response Squad stormed the location in the early hours of Sunday.
He stated that the suspected cultists opened fire on sighting the operatives but were overpowered by the police, forcing them to flee into the adjoining forest along the Abbi–Abraka axis.
The statement read in part, “Acting on credible intelligence in the early hours of Sunday, July 19, 2026, that members of the Black Axe Confraternity (Aye) were conducting an initiation ceremony in a forest within Orogun, operatives of the Command’s Quick Response Squad stormed the location.
“On sighting the operatives, the suspected cultists opened fire but were repelled by the superior tactical response of the police, forcing them to flee into the adjoining forest along the Abbi–Abraka axis.”
The police said a search of the area led to the recovery of one pump-action gun, one cut-to-size double-barrel gun, seven live cartridges, two expended cartridges, seven vehicles, six mobile phones, suspected cult regalia and other personal effects allegedly abandoned by the fleeing suspects.
Edafe added that all the recovered exhibits were in police custody, while efforts were ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Yemi Oyeniyi, commended the operatives for the successful operation and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and the fight against cultism and other violent crimes.
He also appealed to residents to continue providing timely and credible information to assist security agencies in tackling crime across the state.
