Police arrest five over viral machete murder in Delta

— Recover gun, dagger; monarch says residents still afraid By Egufe Yafugborhi ASABA — The Delta State Police Command has arrested five suspected cultists, including a man who allegedly confessed to participating in the gruesome machete killing of a young man at Issele-Azagba, Aniocha North Local Government Area of the state. The arrests followed the circulation of a viral video showing the victim being attacked and butchered with a machete in an incident suspected to be cult-related, which occurred on October 27, 2026.

The police also recovered a pump-action gun, a dagger and suspected illicit substances during operations that led to the arrests. In a statement on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Samuel Erale, had directed operatives of the Special Anti-Kidnapping Unit (SAKU), Asaba, to identify and arrest those responsible for the killing following the circulation of the video.

Edafe said the directive prompted intelligence-led operations that resulted in the arrest of five suspects. According to the statement, four suspected members of the Black Axe confraternity, identified as Ifechukwudi Okafor, 26; Michael Okoro, 26; Freedom Iloh, 28; and Chinasa Akwuo, 29, were arrested on November 3 during a raid on a suspected hideout along Ugbolu-Amachai Road.

A pump-action gun, a dagger and suspected illicit substances were recovered during the operation. The police said further investigations led to the arrest of 27-year-old Infione Solomon Omefe on November 4. Omefe allegedly confessed to participating in the killing captured in the viral video, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend other persons suspected to have been involved in the crime.

The Command, however, did not disclose the circumstances surrounding the killing or the events that triggered the alleged cult violence. Condemning the incident, Erale assured residents that those found responsible would be brought to justice. He warned against cultism and violent crimes, reaffirming the Command’s commitment to sustained operations against criminal groups.

The police commissioner also urged residents to provide credible information to assist security agencies, assuring them that such information would be treated confidentially. Reacting to the arrests, the Obi of Issele-Azagba, Christopher Ugbomah II, said residents were still apprehensive because not all those allegedly involved in the killing had been arrested.

“The storm is getting down a bit, but we are still having fears because the whole culprits have not been apprehended. “There are still some of them outside there. So we urge the police to make sure they get all of them apprehended. I urge my people to calm down while we allow the police to do their work,” the monarch said.