Law enforcement in Osun State has successfully taken 13 individuals into custody on charges ranging from “fraud, stealing and cultism.”
The update was provided by “the Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Gotan,” on Monday during a “press conference in Osogbo.” According to “Gotan,” these “arrests were part of recent efforts to combat crime and criminality across the state.”
Specifically, “eight of the suspects were apprehended over alleged offences of obtaining money under false pretence and stealing, involving multiple victims and financial transactions,” he said. The Commissioner “identified the suspects as “49 year old Akinsoyinu Hellen, 22 year old Salim Usman Abubakar, 35 year old Gbadegesin Oyeyemi Moses, 23 year old Imole Olanrewaju, 40 year old Ojo Adetayo, 50 year old Olanrewaju Dayo, 53 year old Ogunleye Femi and 60 year old Kerubu Oluwagbemi”.”
Details provided by “the police” suggest that “the case involving Akinsoyinu Hellen began after a complainant was introduced to her under the claim that her son, based in the United States, regularly shipped vehicles to Nigeria.” The woman “allegedly told the complainant that two trucks belonging to her son were awaiting clearance at a port and collected a total sum of N13.2 million under that pretence.”
However, “investigations later revealed that the claims were fabricated, and the images of the trucks sent to the complainant had been downloaded from the internet.” When the scheme began to unravel, “police stated that the suspect attempted to flee Ile-Ife but was apprehended on December 27, 2025 at about 2:00am, after which she reportedly confessed to the offence.”
In a different but “related development, Ogunleye Femi and Kerubu Oluwagbemi were arrested over a separate fraud case involving N7 million allegedly obtained under the guise of executing a government contract.” During questioning, “police said Ogunleye Femi admitted to the allegation,” explaining that “he had been influenced by a promise from Kerubu Oluwagbemi to perform money rituals if he could raise 200,000 dollars in cash.”
“CP Gotan added that efforts were ongoing to apprehend other suspects linked to the fraud cases who remain at large.”
Furthermore, “in another operation, five suspects identified as Amokeaja Bassit, Olatunde Segun, Adeyeye Suji, Babatunde Lekan and Olayinka Laide were arrested for alleged membership of an unlawful society following an attack in Adeti Area, Isida, Ilesa.”
The “police said the suspects, believed to be members of the Black Axe confraternity, were arrested by an anti-cultism patrol team after a reported attack on March 23, 2026.” Authorities confirmed that “an axe and suspected criminal charms were recovered from upon arrest while efforts were ongoing to track down fleeing members.”