News
Rivers Security Council Lauds Police Over Serial Killer’s Arrest
The Rivers State Security Council has commended the Nigeria Police for arresting the prime suspect of the ritual killings targeted at young women in parts of the state.
Addressing journalists at the Government House, Port Harcourt, after an emergency meeting of the Rivers State Security Council presided over by Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, last Friday, Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, said that the meeting was impressed by the successes recorded by the police in the last few days, especially the arrest of three suspects.
Danagogo said that the meeting commended the painstaking efforts of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies, which have led to improved security across the state.
“The Rivers State Government has absolute confidence in the ability of the police and other security agencies to tackle the challenge posed by these killers who target young women “, Danagogo said.
He said that given the confession by the prime suspect of the killings, he has operated successfully in Lagos and Imo states and evaded arrest, but was apprehended in Rivers State because of the alertness of the police in the state.
“The police and other security agencies in Rivers State are on top of their game because of the support that they receive from the Rivers State Government under the leadership of Governor Wike.
“These successes show that the support given to security outfits like the ‘Operation Sting’ and other covet security initiatives is yielding positive results”, he said.
Danagogo urged members of the public to remain vigilant and support the security agencies with credible information to fish out other accomplices of the suspected criminals.
He said that the Rivers State Security Council advised young women and other residents not to let down their guards despite the arrest of the prime suspect.
The SSG explained that the Rivers State governor directed all the security agencies to step up security alertness across the state, assuring that the administration will continue to provide logistical and financial support for all operations to protect Rivers people.
Earlier, the 39-year old notorious serial killer of women in hotels, Gracious David West, from Buguma in Asari-Toru Local Government Area, had confessed that he had actually killed’ a total of seven people, and started killing from Ikeja, Lagos before moving to Owerri in Imo State and later Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He confessed that in Port Harcourt, he killed five persons; one in Ikeja and another in Owerri; and survived on the money he stole from the victims’ accounts by using their ATMs cards.
West made the confession, last Friday, while being paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura, at the Rivers State Police Headquarters.
On the motive behind his actions, he said: “I don’t know what always came over me to kill. After I had killed, I would feel remorse and I then I would cry. But after that, the irresistible urge to kill would come over me again. I killed alone.”
About belonging to a cult group, he said… “I was a member of the Degbam cult group, I have since repented. I was not killing for any cult group. I just killed. I don’t know what always came over me to kill.”
On how he had been surviving, he revealed: “The first woman I killed in one of the hotels at Ikeja had about N85,000 in her account.
“Before I strangulated them after love making, I would use knife to cut the hotel bed sheets into a semblance of a twine or rope which I used to bind their hands and feet. I used the knife also to threaten them. The kitchen knife was sold to me by an Aboki. I threatened that if my victims raised alarm I would kill them with the knife. Out of fear, they would keep quiet while I raised the volume of the television set in the hotel room to dwarf any noise. I never killed with the knife.”
West also revealed that before he killed his female victims he insisted on knowing their account balance and ATM pins.
“After strangulating them, I would steal their ATM cards, empty their accounts from any nearby ATM machine and move on. It is not all the girls I slept with that I killed. I killed only whenever the irresistible urge to kill overwhelmed me. l don’t have a house. My mother died through poisoning from her mate and I am homeless. I sleep in hotels.”
He also revealed that he sold the phones he stole from his victims to a customer in Waterlines Junction off Port Harcourt/Aba Expressway and another buyer around MTN office by Oil Mill Market in Port Harcourt.
He also confirmed that he was one of the ex-militants rehabilitated by the Omega Power Ministry (OPM), adding that he secured a job at Federal University of Science and Technology (FUTO), Owerri, through the church but bolted with students’ properties.
The suspect, who at a point broke down in tears also told journalists that he tried to seek spiritual deliverance from Christ Chosen Church.
He was also in Salvation Ministries but to no avail because he couldn’t secure accommodation to follow through.
Dandaura disclosed that his insistence on hotels in the state to install Close-Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) had yielded results.
He vowed that the police under his command would fight crimes headlong in the state.
The CP said that following joint operations with the Army and other security agencies, the killings in Ogoniland are dropping, while “I have stabilized East-West Road, the Elele-Owerri Road.
Dandaura called on political gladiators in the state to come together and move the state forward and that the command under him would be nonpartisan in the discharge of its duties.
He stated further: “The suspect is definitely not alone in these killings, though he has made useful confessions but the command will go beyond his confessions to ensure that a conclusive end is achieved that serves the interest of Justice.
He said so far three suspects are in police custody and are being investigated in connection with these killings, assuring that they will be paraded soon as soon as investigations are concluded.
Our correspondent, who was at the police headquarters, observed curiously that despite knowing that he was on the wanted list by the police, he never changed his stripped T-shirt and pair of jeans trousers.
He used to have them washed by the laundry of the hotels he lodged after which he would put them on when dried before checking out.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to smuggle illicit substances concealed in carton walls, winter jackets, and body cream containers through Murtala Muhammed International Airport and a Lagos-based courier firm.
The agency said two consignments bound for Italy were intercepted at the Lagos airport, leading to the arrest of suspects linked to the shipments.
In a statement released yesterday, the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said one of the suspects, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, was intercepted on Friday, March 20, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome, Italy.
The statement partly read, “Two of the consignments heading to Italy were to be moved through the Lagos airport where two suspects linked to the shipments were promptly arrested.
“One of them, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, was going to Rome, Italy on Friday, March 20, 2026, when he was intercepted while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight with 2,698 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in containers of skin-lightening body cream, all packed in the suspect’s luggage.
“In his statement, Ehianuka, who is a resident of Milan, confirmed that he was to be paid a negotiated fee in Euros if he had succeeded in trafficking the consignment to Italy.”
In another operation on Wednesday, March 18, Babafemi said NDLEA officers at the departure hall intercepted another passenger, Christian Agbonhese, attempting to board a Lufthansa flight to Milan.
A search of his luggage uncovered 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg, 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg, and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg concealed in two large winter jackets.
“No fewer than 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg; 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg; and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg, all concealed in two large winter jackets, bringing the total number of opioids recovered from him to 28,470 pills. The 38-year-old Agbonhese is also a resident of Milan,” the statement added.
In a separate operation at a courier firm in Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA officers on Monday, March 16, intercepted two parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 1kg, hidden in a carton shipped from the United States.
“Also thwarted was an attempt to export 158 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the walls of a carton to New Zealand,” he said.
In Kano State, operatives arrested Abdulkadir Mamuda, 35, with 102.5kg of skunk at Dan-Tsalle, while another suspect, Uche Johnson Festus, 47, was nabbed at Naibawa Gabas with 95.5kg of the same substance.
Babafemi said the agency also recovered 21,737 bottles of codeine-based syrup during a raid at Otto, Ijora area of Lagos on Wednesday, March 18, adding that two suspects, Chidiebere Anigbogu and Paul Nwagbara, were arrested the same day on the Third Mainland Bridge while conveying 8,380 bottles of the syrup.
In Edo State, operatives recovered 97.5kg of skunk from the residence of Akeem Idde, 37, in Ojah, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area on March 16.
In the FCT, officers intercepted a commercial bus along the Gwagwalada Expressway on March 18, recovering 91,840 pills of tramadol hidden in body compartments of the vehicle. The driver, Aminu Ali, 27, was arrested.
In Oyo State, a suspect, Bankole Bari, was on Tuesday, March 17, arrested at Oke-Oyan, Ibarapa LGA, with 71.2kg of skunk, which he smuggled into Nigeria from Benin Republic through the Oyan River.
In a similar development, “Not less than 586,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were recovered by NDLEA operatives from Lawal Anas, 28, along Kaduna-Zaria Highway, Kaduna, on Tuesday, March 17, while 7,290 tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 22, at the same location on Friday, March 20,” Babafemi said.
In Taraba State, officers intercepted Aliyu Adamu, 26, along the Takum-Jalingo Highway with 77,660 capsules of tramadol, while in Adamawa State, six suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 82.8kg of tramadol in a truck in Yola.
The suspects include Ramatu Aliyu, Jungudo Abdullahi, Najid Abdullahi, Musa Mohammed, Usman Abdulrahim, and Musa Mohammed.
The agency said its commands across the country also intensified War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, and communities during the week.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Oyo, FCT, Taraba, and Adamawa commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain the balanced approach to drug control efforts.
News
RSG Applauds FRSC, NDLEA For Enhancing Security In Rivers …As NDLEA Pushes For Drug Tests In Schools, NYSC Camps
The Rivers State Government has commended the dedication and collaboration of federal government agencies in sustaining security in the State.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the State Commander of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), CN Bature Dawa, in Port Harcourt, last week, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Dagogo Wokoma, said Governor Siminalayi Fubara appreciates the strong synergy between the agencies in promoting his administration’s vision of peace, prosperity and progress in the State.
Wokoma urged residents to remain law-abiding, noting that respect for the law is essential for good governance and sustainable development in all parts of the state.
He stated that the governor has remained committed to initiatives that promote peace and social order, stressing that the administration will continue to support programmes of federal agencies aimed at strengthening security and public safety.
“Our governor is committed to peace, progress and prosperity in Rivers State. I therefore encourage all residents, especially young people who are often targeted by those involved in drug abuse, to stay away from drugs, crime and reckless driving,” he said.
In his remarks, the State NDLEA boss, Dawa, disclosed that the agency has arrested 39 suspects in the state from December 2025 to date, including 16 new cases currently under investigation.
He explained that the NDLEA, through its Drug Demand Reduction and Drug Supply Control Units, has intensified efforts to curb the spread of illicit drugs and ensure offenders are brought to justice.
Dawa also called on parents and guardians to closely monitor their children, while urging hotel owners and managers to remain vigilant and prevent their facilities from being used for drug-related activities.
He further advocated the introduction of drug integrity tests in schools and within the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme as part of measures to discourage drug abuse among young people.
In a related development, Dr Wokoma received the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), CC Inyang Umoh, during a courtesy visit, and urged residents to abide by road safety laws and drive in consideration of other road users.
In his remarks, the FRSC boss expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the continuous support to the Corps.
Muslims in Rivers State have commended Governor Siminialayi Fubara for his dedication and commitment to the development of the state.
They also lauded the governor for promoting peaceful co-existence among various religious groups in the state.
Vice President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs ,Alhaji Nasil Awhelegbe Uhor, gave the commendation last Friday during the Eid-el Fitri prayer to mark the end of Ramadan fasting period, at the Port Harcourt Central Mosque, Niger Street, Port Harcourt.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the prayer, Alhaji Uhor said Governor Fubara has shown exemplary leadership in the affairs of the state.
Uhor who is the leader of the South South Muslim Ummah of Nigeria, called on Muslims to remain committed to the ideal of peace and fear of the Almighty Allah.
According to the Rivers State Islamic leader, the message is for Muslims to imbibe and allow the lessons of Ramadan to sink into their lives and shape their ways of doing things.
He urged Muslims to imbibe the culture of love and respect for one another.
“My message is that all Muslims should imbibe and allow the lessons of Ramadan to sink with them,” he advised.
Uhor stressed the need for Muslims and all Nigerians to remain patriotic, while avoiding all forms of anti-social behaviours.
He also called on the political leaders to put the country first, stressing that there is no need for Nigerians to continue to wallow in abject poverty when the country is so rich with natural resources.
Also speaking, the Chief Imam of Rivers State, Alhaji Ibrahim S Yalo, urged Muslims to fear God, and speak the truth always.
According to him, time has come for Nigerians to cultivate the habit of peaceful coexistence, speak the truth and be each others keeper.
“Nigerians own a duty to ensure peace, live together in fear of God and speak the truth always,” he said.
By: John Bibor
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