Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested eight suspected cultists over the alleged brutal assault of a 300-level student of the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, in an incident that has once again thrown the spotlight on the deepening cult menace around Bayelsa's university communities and urban centres. Police identified the victim as Prince Hansen, who was attacked at a hotel along Mike Okokpo Street in Yenagoa, the state capital, on July 14, 2026, at about 10 p.m.. The suspects allegedly accused him of owing them N70,000 and caused him grievous bodily harm.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Musa Mohammed, disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday, July 18, 2026, that operatives of the command's Violent Crime Response Unit swung into action following a distress call from a public-spirited individual. The caller reported that a group of eight young men suspected to be cultists, who were lodged in a hotel, had ganged up and beaten the student within the hotel premises. The police responded swiftly and arrested the suspects at the scene.
The suspects were identified as Desmond Linus, 20; Richman Serbokuro, 21; Plain Lion, 19; Richman Joel, 20; Solomon Damian, 23; Destiny Serbokuro, 24; Isaac Goodnews, 22; and Theresa Francis, 22. DSP Mohammed disclosed that six of the suspects are students of the Niger Delta University, Amassoma. This detail, combined with the alleged recovery of illicit substances and charms, suggests a troubling overlap of campus criminality, intimidation and ritualised violence that police and university authorities will now be under pressure to confront more aggressively.
Upon searching the suspects, police recovered exhibits including a substance suspected to be Indian hemp, Swinol, and charms. Mohammed stated that investigations are ongoing and that the suspects would be prosecuted upon the conclusion of the investigation. He reiterated the command's resolve to tackle cultism and other violent crimes in the state. "The command reiterates its unwavering commitment to combating cultism and other violent crimes across the state. Members of the public are encouraged to continue providing timely and credible information to the police to enhance public safety and security," he said.
The latest arrests come against the backdrop of another Bayelsa cult-related case reported only days earlier, when police said they arrested two suspected cultists after the killing of Ebube Jonathan, a 200-level Niger Delta University student, in Amassoma. In that incident, police said the victim was attacked along Kabaka Street, macheted and shot before being confirmed dead by a medical doctor. That sequence of events points to a wider security pattern in which student rivalries, reprisals and violent retaliation appear to be feeding one another.
Bayelsa has long struggled with cult-related violence, especially in Yenagoa and Amassoma, and recent reporting from the European Union Agency for Asylum cites a string of cult killings and clashes in the state through 2025. That wider trend makes this latest arrest more than an isolated police success; it is part of a recurring security crisis that keeps returning to the same communities, the same institutions and, increasingly, the same age group. For Bayelsa, the bigger issue is not just whether the suspects are prosecuted, but whether the state can break the cycle that allows students to move from lecture halls into cult networks, hotel rooms into assault scenes, and campus disputes into violent street justice.
Police say the suspects will be charged to court once investigations are concluded. For now, the case adds another grim chapter to the state's fight against cultism, and another reminder that youth violence in the Niger Delta is becoming harder to dismiss as an occasional disturbance.
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