Father disowns two sons arrested as cult leaders

The father of two suspected gang leaders of the Awawa cult in the Dopemu area of Agege, Lagos State, has disowned the children, urging the police to prosecute them.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the two suspects – Fatai Popoola and Yakubu Popoola – were arrested by the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, Alausa, on Friday.

It was learnt that the father of two of the suspects, identified only as Alhaji Popoola, told the police that he had given up on them and the law should take its course.

Our correspondent learnt that the 66-year-old father was at the taskforce office, telling the police that he came to tell his sons that their end had come.

He said,

“I have warned the two of them several times to desist from gang activities, but they refused. I am shocked that I have two sons among the suspects arrested by the police. They are no longer my sons.

“I only came as a disciplined man to tell the two of them that their end has come. I think it is a lesson to wayward children to always heed their parents’ advice.”

 One of the suspects, 30-year-old Sanni, alias Last Born, from Okene, Kogi State, confessed to be a leader of the gang, adding that he had raped five women in the course of their operations.

He said, “The person who brought me into the Awawa cult stays in Oloosha, Mushin area and his name is Olata. I lead the Awawa boys in Dopemu.“Some of my boys also sell Indian hemp at pubs and nightclubs. They sell for as low as N100 and we take Indian hemp before going for any robbery operation.“I have raped about five girls in the area. My boys and I collected N3,000 every day from shop owners in the Dopemu area. We burgled shops in Aluminum Village.”

Punch