A Serving Permanent Secretary in Ondo State( name withheld) and eight other persons were arrested by the State Police Command around 3.00 am for performing rituals.
The raid by armed gangs of a commercial bank in Ikere Ekiti last Thursday led to the arrest of the ritualist.
According to Vanguard: the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Victor Babayemi, who gave the hint in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital on Saturday, said the Permanent Secretary and others were arrested in a bush at Ijare, a border town between Ekiti and Ondo states.
The Branch Manager of the bank, Ikere was also reportedly arrested following the incident.
According to the police, the Permanent Secretary and three others were arrested while performing rituals at night in the bush through which the robbery bandits escaped.
The armed gang had stormed a first generation bank at about 5.30 p.m killing two persons and injuring two others during a gun battle with the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
The PPRO said the Permanent Secretary and the three others were arrested at about 3 a.m by the police.
Babayemi said the men were arrested with a live goat and other fetish materials, adding that they would have been mistaken for robbers.
"During the operation, we saw the Permanent Secretary and seven others in white apparel performing rituals, so we had to arrest them to explain their mission at the place at that unholy hour".
The PPRO said those arrested are being interrogated with vital information being obtained.
