In a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, on Tuesday, the arrest followed the killing of a student earlier this year.
Recall that the life of a 23-year-old student of the IBBUL identified as Abdulwahab Jafar, was cut short during an attack on his lodge at about 3 AM on June 23, 2025.
The police confirmed that 19 suspects were arrested across Lapai in an operation carried out by the Tactical Support Team and the Force Intelligence Department of the command to restore normalcy.
Abiodun said the investigation was later narrowed down to seven suspects on charges including criminal conspiracy, robbery, unlawful society, internet fraud, possession of dangerous weapons, and suspected culpable homicide.
The suspects were identified as Idris Hamza, 27, and Suleiman Damilare, 27, both of Maikunkele; Abdulsemiu Bashir, 23, of Lapai; Bawa Aliyu, 27, of Suleja; Yakubu Musa, 24, of Maikunkele; Samson Abbah, 28, of Rafin-Yanshi; and Solomon Musa, 28, of Maitumbi.
Abiodun said Idris Hamza and Suleiman Damilare were arrested “on June 27 at Fadikpe with cannabis, charms, and local black soaps with a Toyota Corolla vehicle at one Abdullahi Ahmed a.k.a catch-up residence.
“The suspects confessed to members of Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM) and further confessed to having carried out a series of cultist activities in IBBUL such as initiation of members e.g Jolijoli and other members.’’
The statement added that Abdulsemiu Bashir, suspected to be a rival member of the group known as VIKINGS, was arrested in Lapai on June 29.
Police found him in possession of “16 SIM cards, a POS machine and a sum of seventy-seven thousand naira. He claimed that he bought the SIM cards from one Audu, another member of VIKINGS presently at large.
“The SIM cards were confirmed to be from stolen/robbed phones of victims.”
Bawa Aliyu, Yakubu Musa, Samson Abbah, and Solomon Musa were also linked to cult-related robberies and attacks on students, the statement said.
According to Abiodun, “Samson Abbah “was also mentioned as the group Admin officer of their WhatsApp platform for the Minna zone.
“The platform was named as ‘Men that matters’ before he changed it to ‘Football News’, where they discussed their nefarious activities.”
Abiodun said investigation is ongoing, “and effort to identify either VIKINGS or NBM members responsible for the attack of the deceased is intensified, as it was established that the attack was cultists related.
“Further development will be made public.”
