The Imo State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old man alleged to be a wanted cultist in the Owerri West Local Government Area of the state.

The spokesman of the police command, Henry Okoye, said the suspect, identified as Paul Munachi, was a member of the Black Axe confraternity and was nabbed on February 26, when some cops raided a hideout for cultists in Umuguma.

Okoye explained that the suspect confessed to allegedly being a member of the Black Axe confraternity and was on a mission to avenge his brother who was killed by members of the Baga confraternity.

The PPRO disclosed that the suspect also confessed to having bought a gun from a dealer in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to accomplish his mission before he was arrested.

Okoye said, “Eagle-eyed operatives of the command’s anti-narcotics squad on February 28, 2024, while on an intelligence-led raid of a suspected cultists’ hideout at Umuguma in Owerri West of Imo, apprehended a notorious cultist named Paul Munachi, ‘m’ 26years, of Oforola in Owerri West, who is famous on the command’s wanted list due to his nefarious activities and recovered one locally made pistol with three rounds of live cartridges in his possession.

“On interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a member of the Black Axe Confraternity and stated that he bought the gun from a dealer in Port Harcourt to avenge the death of his brother who was killed by members of the Baga confraternity. He also confessed to some violent crimes he perpetrated alongside his cohorts in Imo.

“The investigation is ongoing, effort is intensified to arrest other members at large and the manufacturer of the locally-made gun. The suspect will be arraigned in court upon completion of the investigation.”