The Cross River State Police Command has arrested 11 male suspects following a joint operation targeting alleged cult initiation activities near the Engineering Department of the University of Calabar.

The operation, led by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), Satellite Town, Calabar, was carried out in collaboration with the internal security personnel of the institution.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said the Command acted on a distress call from the university authority.

“On 22nd October 2026, at about 1030 hours, operatives of the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, Satellite Town, Calabar, responded to a distress call from the university on suspected cult initiation activities in a nearby bush.

Acting on the information, the Command joined the university’s internal security personnel to cordon off the area,” the statement said. Those arrested were identified as Ogar Favour, 25; David Akpa, 27; Gift Emmanuel, 24; Aaron Favour, 24; David Abubu, 25; Victor Emmanuel Eyibo, 26; Oghenemaro Hendrix, 24; James Ede Joseph, 22; Charles Ekeng, 21; Edu Nkanu, 26; and Ogabor John Odey, 24.

According to the police, items recovered during the operation include a Lexus 350 saloon car reportedly abandoned by a fleeing individual and three motorcycles, which have been secured for investigative purposes.

The Command noted that no connection between the recovered vehicles and the suspected cult-related activity has been established at this stage. The Commissioner of Police, CP Ajo Geoffrey Ordue, reiterated the Command’s resolve to prevent cultism and other violent crimes through intelligence-led policing and collaboration with stakeholders, assuring that investigations will be conducted professionally and in accordance with the law.

The police urged members of the public to provide credible information to prevent crime, adding that investigation is ongoing while the suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court. and in accordance with the law.