Serial Killings: Police Set To Arraign Prime Suspect In Court

The Rivers State Police Command has said all is now set to charge suspected serial killer, Gracious David-West to court to enable him answer murder charges against him.
It would be recalled that the state Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura had told newsmen that David-West, a prime suspect in the serial killing of young women in hotels, confessed to have killed 15 women in different parts of the country, including Port Harcourt.
Speaking to The Tide on the latest development, spokesman of the state Police Command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, said David-West would be arraigned this week.
He dismissed insinuations that the matter was being swept under the carpet; noting that the command was painstakingly digging into the suspect’s stories to ascertain if there are accomplices.
Omoni further said that though David-West confessed to killing 15 women, it was not enough to serve as evidence in court without proof.
“We are doing everything humanly possible to cross our Ts and dot our Is to see that we do not leave any room that may scuttle our efforts to win this matter in court. We want to make sure that the matter is thoroughly investigated.
“Though he has confessed to killing 15 persons, but that is not enough. We are going beyond that because the way our mind is working, he may not be alone in this business.
“So, we are trying to demystify him and see if we can get other startling revelations from him. But be that as it may, I do know that in the next couple of days, he will be in court because we cannot continue to keep him here,” Omoni stated.
He further said, “We are not giving him any preferential treatment. We are not petting him either. We are doing what the law allows us to do. A prisoner has some rights. He has right to medical attention, right to his lawyers, right to his parents, family and so on.
“It is only when he has been pronounced guilty with a sentence of death on him; that is when he loses all such privileges. The command is policing with human face. As a matter of fact, a prisoner is entitled to good food three times a day.
“He is already asthmatic and not too strong. We have been giving him medical attention and all of that,” Omoni explained.
Similarly, the Rivers State House of Assembly ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the serial killer, Gracious David-West, has said that it would do its best to ensure that justice was served in the matter.
The committee also reiterated its stand that the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage provided by one of the hotels where the suspect allegedly carried out the killings was doctored.
The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Kelechi Wogu, disclosed this after members of the committee watched the footage at the state Assembly Complex in Port Harcourt.
Wogu, who is the lawmaker representing Omuma Constituency in the state legislature, also said he would not believe that the suspect disappeared from the footage.
According to him, “We invited the hotel to come and tell us what is happening when we saw the CCTV footage trending. A lot of questions came up. Some people said he disappeared, some said he vanished; some said the CCTV camera was doctored.
“The hotel has come with their engineer who installed the CCTV, and he said it was not doctored. He is also saying that what has happened there beats him. That he doesn’t understand what played out there. Well, I still maintain my ground that the CCTV camera was doctored.”
The lawmaker commended security operatives and the Rivers State Government for their efforts in arresting the suspected serial killer, noting that the committee would not relent in its efforts to ensure justice prevails.
Wogu further said, “So, a lot of things are not correct. I think we will brief the security agencies of our findings, and report back to the House. But believe me, there was no disappearance, no vanishing. I want to assure Rivers people that we have confidence in the police. Let me also thank the commissioner of police. He has not just saved the lives of people living in Rivers State. He has saved the lives of the entire Nigerians.”

Dennis Naku