Police arrest 11 suspects for cultism, ATM fraud in Kogi
Recover 59 ATM cards, two motorcycles, weapons By Boluwaji Obahopo, Lokoja The Kogi State Police Command has arrested 11 suspects over alleged cultism and ATM card-swapping fraud in Itobe, Ofu Local Government Area, and…
Cultism and ATM-related fraud remain persistent security concerns in Kogi State and across Nigeria, with cult groups often linked to violent clashes, extortion and other crimes in local communities, while ATM card-swapping scams continue to be a common method used by fraudsters to defraud bank customers of their savings. Police commands routinely carry out raids targeting both vices, but arrests of this scale—combining cult suspects and a card-swapping syndicate in the same operation—tend to draw public attention to how intertwined such criminal networks can be within a single local government area.
The coverage across outlets is broadly consistent on the core details: the Kogi State Police Command arrested a total of 11 suspects, split between alleged cultists picked up in Itobe, Ofu Local Government Area, and an ATM fraud syndicate apprehended in Idah, with 59 ATM cards recovered. Vanguard adds that two motorcycles and weapons were also seized, details not mentioned in the Punch and BusinessDay reports, which focus more narrowly on the numerical breakdown of suspects. None of the reports indicate the suspects' identities, the charges they will formally face, or the status of ongoing investigations.