Suspected cultists attempt to disarm DPO

Some hoodlums suspected to be cultists have attempted to dispossess a Lagos Divisional Police Officer, Superintendent Ogoezi Sufade Rawlings, attached to the Igando Division, of his official firearm.
A source told our correspondent that the incident occurred at Sasbet Hotel in Igando, Lagos, when the DPO led a team of policemen to rescue some victims of suspected hoodlums held hostage in the hotel.
A resident of Igando, Bolanle Kazeem, told our correspondent, “Trouble started at about 11.40pm when one of the victims of the cultists escaped from the hotel located near Afolabi bus-stop,  along Igando – Lasu- lba Express way, after he was forcibly initiated by the cult leader, known as SS, and his phones and some money were stolen from him.
“The escaped victim dashed into the Police Division to alert the DPO that the cult group was conducting the initiation of new members within the hotel premises.”
It was further gathered that the DPO and his men immediately stormed the hotel premises at about 12 midnight.
Explaining further, Kazeem said, “When the police got to the hotel, they were said to have met a stiff resistance by the security guard identified as Taiwo, who denied them access into the hotel, thereby allowing some of the suspects, who scaled the rear fence, to escape.”
Another resident, Emmanuela Robert, said, “One of the four suspects already in police custody, attempted to disarm the DPO of his official service pistol, while resisting arrest, by hitting his right hand with an iron rod, which fractured his bone.
The injured DPO, whose injured right hand was encased in a Plaster of Paris, when our correspondent visited the police station, however, declined to comment.
Also, most of the workers at the hotel declined to comment on the incident.
Efforts by our correspondent to reach the proprietor of the hotel, Oba Samuel Adeoye, who is a monarch in a community in Ondo State, for comments, proved abortive, as he was said to be out of Lagos.
An assistant manager and a supervisor in the hotel, who were identified as Abe and Segun, respectively, confirmed that the hotel Manager, simply identified as Ade; a Private security guard from Agbara estate security services, Taiwo and two suspected cultists, Sandra and Emmanuel, aka Manefe, were arrested by the police.
But Segun denied that the hotel was being used by the suspected cultists as a safe haven.
According to him, it was while the policemen were beating Taiwo near the fence that the DPO hit his right hand on the wall.
He said, “This allegation about a cult group meeting here is unknown to us. Whenever we see some strange people visiting our hotel, we do ask them to go. It is true we know Emmanuel called Manefe and Sandra, but there was no initiation in our hotel.
“Even, it was while the DPO and his men were kicking and beating Taiwo, our security man, that he mistakenly hit his hand on the wall.”
While assuring that the private security company had opened a line of discussion with the police over the incident, the Chief Security Officer, who simply identified himself as Mr. Marcus, promised to give our correspondent details of the efforts being made to bail Taiwo from detention.
But as at press time, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officers, Mr. Chike Oti, a superintendent of police, promised to confirm the incident.