Security
Police Arrest Officers Caught In Imo Viral Cult Video, While Bandits In The North Walk Free Collecting Community Dues
DDM News
(DDM) – The Imo State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of three officers seen in a viral video allegedly celebrating and displaying symbols of the Vikings confraternity, a deadly cult organization blamed for countless killings and kidnappings across Nigeria.
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the officers, Inspector Obinna Peter, Corporal Amaechi Augustine, and Corporal Ejikeme Victor, were apprehended after the footage drew nationwide condemnation and sparked heated discussions about the moral decay and double standards within Nigeria’s security agencies.
Police spokesperson Henry Okoye, in a statement released on Saturday, said the officers were immediately detained following an order from Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, who described their conduct as “a shameful exhibition of indiscipline and gross misconduct unbecoming of officers of the law.”
Okoye confirmed that the suspects would face a disciplinary hearing on Monday through an Orderly Room Trial, a standard internal process used to determine appropriate sanctions for erring officers.
He stated, “The conduct displayed in the viral video is highly unprofessional and does not reflect the discipline, ethics, and values of the Nigeria Police Force.
The outcome of the Orderly Room Trial will be communicated to the public in due course.”
The viral clip, first shared by NaijaConfra, an anti-cultism advocacy group, showed the officers wearing Vikings (DNKI) berets while chanting confraternity slogans, an act that has since ignited outrage across the country.
NaijaConfra’s statement condemned the act as “a national disgrace,” accusing the police of turning a blind eye to cult infiltration within their ranks.
The platform said, “How can such officers arrest or prosecute cultists when they are members themselves? This is why impunity thrives, those meant to enforce the law are fraternizing with criminals.”
DDM reports that the Vikings confraternity, also known as Aro Mate or De Norsemen Kclub International (DNKI), is one of Nigeria’s most violent cult groups.
Its influence stretches from universities to urban centers, with factions reportedly involved in political thuggery, assassinations, and armed robbery.
Human rights groups, including SERAP and the Rule of Law and Accountability Forum, have urged the police to make the disciplinary hearing public and prosecute any officer found guilty under the Anti-Cultism Act.
However, the development has also reignited anger among Nigerians over what many see as the selective enforcement of justice, as the same police force has failed to curb worsening banditry in the North.
While these officers in Imo face immediate detention and trial for cult association, bandit groups across Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, and Kaduna States reportedly continue to collect monthly “taxes” and protection levies from residents without consequence.
Critics argue that the police appear more reactive to viral videos than to the daily atrocities committed by armed groups holding thousands of Nigerians hostage.
Social activist Deji Adeyanju wrote on X, “They are quick to parade low-ranking officers for show, but in the North, terrorists collect taxes, run parallel governments, and nothing happens. The hypocrisy is staggering.”
DDM gathered that in parts of northern Nigeria, bandits have established checkpoints, extort communities, and demand ransom payments openly, yet arrests are rare, and prosecutions almost nonexistent.
Political analysts say the disparity in response exposes the deep-rooted regional and institutional bias that continues to undermine Nigeria’s security system.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Government has said it will wait for the conclusion of the investigation before taking any position.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hope Uzodinma, Oguwike Nwachukwu, told Sunday PUNCH: “Launching an investigation is commendable. Let’s wait for the outcome before the government decides on the next step.”
The scandal has further deepened debate about the credibility of the Nigerian Police Force, which faces widespread criticism over corruption, human rights abuses, and internal rot.
Public reaction remains fierce online, with many demanding that the same energy used to discipline cult-linked policemen in the South be applied to dislodging terrorists and criminal networks in the North.
As DDM observed, Nigerians are calling for a uniform standard of accountability, arguing that selective justice not only undermines trust in institutions but also emboldens criminality nationwide.
The Imo Police Command has assured that “no one, regardless of rank or position, will be spared if found guilty.”
But for many Nigerians, the real question remains, who will arrest the bandits walking free, collecting taxes from citizens under police protection?
One of the 25 abducted schoolgirls taken during a violent attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State has escaped from captivity and reunited with her family, the school principal confirmed on Tuesday.
DDM gathered that the student fled her captors late Monday and appeared at her parents’ home hours after heavily armed terrorists stormed the school at about 4am.
The information was also confirmed by the Associated Press (AP).
The attack, which was carried out by gunmen suspected to be bandits, left one staff member dead and another injured.
Police spokesperson, CSP Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi, said the assailants overpowered security personnel, scaled the fence, and took the girls from their hostel after a fierce gun battle.
Principal Musa Rabi Magaji disclosed that another student, who was not among the 25 officially listed as abducted, also escaped immediately after the attack. He confirmed that both girls were “safe and sound.”
Following the incident, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu, visited the school and ordered an expanded, intelligence-driven operation under Operation FANSAN YANMA.
The Army statement quoted him as directing commanders to conduct “relentless day-and-night pursuit of the abductors,” stressing that “success is not optional.”
Security forces have since widened their search across forests and rural communities surrounding Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, deploying surveillance and ground troops to track the kidnappers and rescue the remaining students.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, eyewitness accounts suggest the attackers included young men in military camouflage and speaking Fulani.
Security analysts say the incident reflects the worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria, where school abductions have escalated in frequency and brutality.
Over the past decade, mass kidnappings have shifted from criminal banditry to include jihadist elements, complicating rescue efforts and deepening public fear.
The escape of one student offers a glimmer of hope, but families continue to wait anxiously for the safe return of the remaining abducted girls.
Terrorists have attacked the Gidan Waya community in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing four people and abducting 12 others, including an ECWA Church Reverend, women, and minors.
Community members, who released photographs of the abducted residents, appealed for their immediate and safe release.
Amnesty International confirmed the attack in a statement, noting that the incident occurred on the night of 11 November 2025.
The organisation condemned the killings and abductions, stressing that the incident reflects the continued inability of Nigerian authorities to protect citizens from armed groups.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns gunmen’s attack on Gidan Waya… in which 4 people were killed and 12 people abducted – including children of 13, 14 and 15 years old,” the group said.
The rights organisation further stated that since 2016, rural communities across parts of northern Nigeria have lived under constant threat from armed groups, leading to widespread displacement. Plateau, Zamfara, southern Kaduna, Benue, and Katsina are among the worst-affected areas.
SaharaReporters earlier published photographs of the kidnapped victims, drawing renewed attention to the community’s worsening security crisis.
The latest attack adds to a series of violent incidents across the North, with many rural communities abandoned due to fear of repeated assaults.
Rampaging gunmen struck again in Kaduna State on Monday, killing one person and abducting a Catholic priest along with several other residents.
The attack was confirmed in a letter issued by Rev. Fr. Christian Okewu Emmanuel, Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna.
According to the letter, the assailants invaded Kushe Gugdu in Kagarko Local Government Area during the early hours of Monday and whisked away Rev. Fr. Bobbo Paschal, the Parish Priest of St Stephen Parish, Kushe Gugdu.
“I write to inform you of the attack on Kushe Gugdu and the abduction of one of our priests, Rev. Fr. Bobbo Paschal… from his residence during the early hours of today, Monday, 17th of November, 2025,” the Chancellor said.
He added that “many others were abducted” during the invasion, and that the brother of another priest Rev. Fr. Anthony Yero was killed in the assault.
The incident adds to the growing wave of killings and mass abductions carried out by armed bandits across the country.
On the same morning in Kebbi State, heavily armed bandits attacked the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, located in the Danko district of Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, kidnapping 25 schoolgirls around 4 a.m.
Security agencies have not yet released official statements on either attack.
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