The Edo State Government has intensified its campaign against cultism, criminal gangs, and ritual practices in the South-south state.
News reports that the state government has sealed multiple properties linked to suspected cult leaders following the discovery of a shrine in Egbaen community and a violent confrontation in Evboyare that claimed a life.
The coordinated operation, codenamed “Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers”, was led by the Squad’s coordinator, Idemudia Noah, in collaboration with allied security agencies.
Acting on intelligence reports, operatives stormed a residence in Egbaen, Egor Local Government Area, in the early hours of Wednesday, August 20, 2025. Though the building was unoccupied, a search uncovered a secluded shrine at the rear of the premises.
Inside, officers found a white casket and fetish items believed to have been used for initiation rituals and other clandestine activities.
In swift response, the Edo State Government ordered the immediate sealing of the property, an emphatic signal of its resolve to dismantle the physical and spiritual infrastructure sustaining cultism across the State.
Simultaneously, security forces moved to Evboyare community in Uhunmwode Local Government Area, which had been the scene of a bloody clash between rival confraternities, the Eiye and Maphite, leaving one person, identified as Festus, dead.
The residence of the alleged Maphite leader, Felix Aigbedion, was sealed after intelligence linked him to the crisis.
Aigbedion, now declared wanted, is believed to have masterminded the assault during a community dispute that spiraled into cult violence.
By the time operatives arrived, Evboyare lay in desolation. Homes, vehicles, and personal property bore the marks of destruction, while spent cartridges littered the ground; grim evidence of the crossfire that terrorized residents and forced families to flee.