Kwara Poly denies 16 'dead cultists' as Police arrests 42 suspects

Police in Kwara state have arrested 42 suspects in connection to last week's cult war in which 16 cultists, believed to be students of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, were reportedly died.

The arrests come even as the management of the polytechnic denied reports that its students were involved or killed in the clash between Aye and Eiye confraternities last weekend.

According to several reports, the violence started with an attack in the polytechnic, escalating into a war in which 16 students lost their lives in separate attacks.

An eyewitness who was quoted in a The Nation report said it was an isolated killing that triggered reprisal.

"It all started around 4 pm at the weekend. A victim who lived at Agbooba was killed beside a bridge close to the filling station at Oja Tuntun area of Ilorin," the source reportedly said.

“Another dead body was found at Victory Hotel, Agbooba on Sunday.

"One suspected cultist was murdered at Irewolede yesterday. The deceased was chased to the area and in the process was matcheted by his assailants."

At least one of the attacks is believed to have happened on campus, during the screening of aspirants for the Students Union Government’s election at the weekend.

But the Deputy Rector, Administration, of the polytechnic, Engineer Ahmed Aminu, said there was no such violence.

"We wish to tell the public and media that it is not true that there was a cult clash on our campus," he said.

He added that if any clash occurred as reported, then it had nothing to do with students of the polytechnic.

Following the attacks, the spokesperson of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi (ASP), had confirmed the arrest of 30 suspects on Monday, 14 of whom are culpable.

Reports quoting the police indicate that a further 12 persons were arrested later, bringing the total number of suspects to 42.