Everything stopped breathing in Ilorin metropolis, literally. The peace of a once quiet city was disturbed on a recent week as two rival cults battled for supremacy. The cultists were alleged to be students of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

Before the recent cult clash in the city, the residents of Ilorin have had to sleep with their eyes fully closed. That has since changed. The cult clash in the city had reduced tempo of activities around the city. Everyone is cautious and conscious these days.

Among the areas where the incident happened according to an eye witness account are Agbooba, Baboko, Saboline, Irewolede and Niger Road, all in Ilorin metropolis.

According to different accounts, about 16 people lost their lives during the cult clash in different areas of Ilorin metropolis, though the police authorities claimed that only two people died.

Some residents of Ilorin who spoke on condition of anonymity blamed the recent cult clash in the metropolis on Students Union Government (SUG) election of the state polytechnic, but the school authorities has since denied such, saying the selection of candidates for the election was peacefully organised and successful.

THISDAY gathered that one of the victims of the cult clash was gunned down during screening of aspirants for the Students Union Government's election of the state polytechnic, while another victim was reportedly killed at Asa Dam road by suspected members of Eiye confraternity.

The management of the Kwara State Polytechnic has come out to deny the death of any student on campus of the institution, saying that the school had since closed and students sent home after conclusion of second semester exams.

However, at the Niger Road, a resident, who pleaded anonymity said, "it all started around 4pm on Thursday, August 13, 2015. A victim who lived at Agbooba was killed beside a bridge close to the filling station at Oja Tuntun area of Ilorin.

"Another dead body was found at Victory Hotel, Agbooba on Sunday. One suspected cultist was murdered at Irewolede yesterday. The deceased was chased to the area and in the process was matcheted by his assailants.

In its efforts towards curbing the violent situation, the state police command has arrested more than 45 suspects in connection with the renewed cult clash among students of tertiary institutions in the state.

The Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects, stating that 29 people among the arrested suspects were found culpable after screening.

The PPRO, who said investigations still continue on the development, added that the 29 suspects were being charged to court for prosecution.

He said: "We have arrested about 45 suspects. After screening, the ones that have case to answer we arraigned yesterday. We charged 14 to court yesterday and 12 for today. The investigation is ongoing.

"We discovered that cultists, if care is not taken will cause more harm than good and we have need to make sure that we clip their wings. Two people died as a result of the clashes last week and early this week. We have officially two persons that were killed. One in the polytechnic and one at the Ajase Road, opposite a hotel. One person was equally matcheted and he is receiving treatment at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital".

Okasanmi added: "We will continue to wage war against cultism. Actually I do not know the genesis of the matter. The fact remains that school authorities are not really giving us the details of the information we need. We do not have the authority to operate within the campuses. We only have our intelligence and because of that, our men are always hovering at the periphery of the school in case of any eventually. That was what exactly happened on Thursday last week.

"The one that died at the polytechnic was shot by about five assailants. They came into the campus at the place they call Motion Ground, where photographers gather to take pictures. That was where he was shot. It was the sound of that gunshot and the running of people helter-skelter that attracted the police within the periphery of the school.

"They dashed in and stated pursuing those people. The police tried to rescue the shut man who was groaning so they could not apprehend the assailants. The gun used by the assailant dropped and the police recovered. It was recovered in the same Polytechnic premises.

"The dead one is a cult member but I would not say if he is a student or not. The information we have is that both the assailants and the dead victim are cult members and they struck on Thursday at the polytechnic".

The PPRO explained further, "The cult activity at Kwara Polytechnic happened on Thursday, 13 August. On Friday we started hearing that people are going to do this or that. This other one died on August 16.

"About 9am we received a distress call that one corpse of a young man was lying down at a hotel at Ajase Ipo road. The information we have is that Azeez Lanre is the one that died at Polytechnic aka Paparazi. The other victim is of unknown identity but inside his pocket there was an international passport bearing Yusuf Adekunle".

Also, the Kwara State police command penultimate Wednesday, paraded three suspected cult members, among one who specialised in using Lacasera drink to drug his victims before dispossessing them of their belongings.

The suspect Adeniyi Sijibomi,(18) was paraded alongside one John Onucho (25) at the headquarters of the state police command, Ilorin for being a member of Eiye confraternity who were allegedly involved in the recent killings of two persons in Ilorin.

Okasanmi, who paraded the suspects before newsmen along with three others arrested for criminal conspiracy and theft of vehicles, said the suspect added a pain killer called "tramadol" to the Lacacesra which he used to drug his victim before committing the crime.

He said: "on 18/8/2015 in a bid to arresting perpetrators of the last cult clashes in Ilorin which led to the killing of two young men, the command in addition to suspects earlier arrested and charged to court, also picked up Adeniyi Sijibomi (18) and John Onucho (25) last week, with the arms used in the dastardly act.

The PPRO said two locally manufactured pistols, two live cartridges and one expended cartridges were recovered from the suspects who according to him,"are all members of Eiye confraternity".

Speaking further, he said: "In another development on 17/8/2015 based on a complaint made by one Bidemi Adewole 'F' Sapati Ile area Ilorin,two suspects Adeniyi Sijibomi 'M' and Tosin David 'M' of the same area and members of cult group conspired to kill the complaint using a poison laden Lacasera drink. Suspects confessed committing the act with a view to dispossessing her of her sales proceeds".

Meanwhile, the management of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin has denied the death and clash of cult groups on campus of the institution.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the deputy rector (Administration), Mr. Ahmed Aminu, who spoke on behalf of the Rector of the institution on the matter said there was no cult clash on the campus.

He said the polytechnic finished its sessional examinations for 2014/2015 academic session on August 8 without hitches, adding that circulars were issued about the conclusion of the session with the effect that students should vacate the campus and that the students accordingly vacated.

Aminu, who said that lecturers of the school were presently busied with conference marking exercise, which he said the institution adopted to mark examination papers of the students, explained that since the exercise was a sensitive one, no student was allowed to come around.

He also denied that the clash on the campus happened during screening exercise of the election of the school's Students Union Government, saying that the exercise was witnessed by security operatives of the Police, Civil Defence and SSS and that it was peaceful.

"We wish to tell the general public and the media that it is not true that there was a cult clash on our campus", he said.

However, following the growing clash of rivalry cult groups in Ilorin, the Kwara State House of Assembly has summoned the management of Kwara State Polytechnics to appear before it for explanation on the situation.

The Speaker, Dr Ali Ahmad, gave the directive while reading the resolutions of the House on matter of urgent public importance raised by the Chairman, House Committee on Ethics,Privileges, Public Service and Judiciary, Mr. Kamaldeen Fagbemi.

Fagbemi raised a matter of urgent public importance on the unfortunate clash of some rivalry cult groups in Ilorin metropolis during the weekend.

He expressed worry that the existing laws could not abate the activities of secret societies, rather the situation was getting worst.

He noted with displeasure that many innocent had been lost to weekend clash between the secret cult societies and called on the House to prevail on the concerned agencies to investigate and find lasting solution to the menace.

Dr Ahmad directed the management of the institution to appear before House Committees on Ethics,Privileges, Public Service and Judiciary as well as Education and Human Capital Development with a view to adopting measures that would be tailored towards zero tolerance to cultism as the case in other tertiary institutions in the state. He asked the committee to report back to the House in one week.

The Speaker also mandated the committee to liaise with security agencies, Ministry of Justice, the Nigeria Bar Association and other stakeholders with a view to finding a lasting solution to the menace of cultism and ending the violence perpetrated by cultists and hoodlums and report to the House in three weeks time.

He warned that no institutions or individuals would be allowed to endanger the lives and property of the people of the state.

He said the House was aware that the issue of cultism had gone beyond the students' level because many artisans were also joining the group. He said the House would not hesitate to amend existing if it requires to do so with a view melting appropriate sanction on cult members or the abators of evil acts.

Some of the members who contributed to the debate, expressed concerned over growing rate of activities cultists, saying that the peaceful atmosphere of Ilorin had been disrupted by evil acts of cultists, miscreants and drug peddlers.

They blamed the situation in Kwara Polytechnics on admitting over populated students, lack of proper screening of prospective students and inflow of bad elements into the state due to her peaceful nature and called for concerted efforts of all stakeholders with a view to nipping the menace in the bud.

Some of the residents of Ilorin who spoke with THISDAY on the development condemned the dastardly act and called on the state government to ensure that the law passed by the last administration against existence of secret cults in the state tertiary institutions should be put into use and anybody found culpable in the act should be dealt with according to the existing law.