The Kwara State Police Command has arrested three suspected members of the Eiye Confraternity over the alleged abduction and murder of a student of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, while intensifying efforts to apprehend nine other suspected members of the gang.

The command said the arrests followed an investigation by operatives of its Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), which uncovered the circumstances surrounding the student’s disappearance.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said in a statement yesterday that the suspects were arrested during coordinated tactical operations conducted last Monday at identified cult hideouts across Ilorin metropolis.

The suspects were identified as Adeoye Babatunde Alimi, 23, also known as “Solar”; Bernard Kayode, 25, alias “KK”; and Owoyemi Bashiru, 27.

According to the police, the suspects confessed during interrogation to their respective roles in the crime and admitted that the victim was killed after being abducted by the cult group.

The command said investigations revealed that the gang comprised 12 members, with three currently in custody and nine others still at large.

“Tactical efforts have since been intensified to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang, dismantle the criminal network and recover the corpse of the victim,” the statement said.

Ejire-Adeyemi added that the suspects had provided investigators with useful information on other violent crimes allegedly committed by the group within Ilorin.

She assured residents that investigations were ongoing and that all those found culpable would be prosecuted at the conclusion of the investigation.