Rivers State is in the news again, and, for the wrong reason, following the arrest of a native doctor and three others for allegedly slaughtering and dismembering two children for money ritual.
The suspects, Aniekan Uko (27) and his girlfriend, Kingsley Opurum (43) and Friday Silas (47), were apprehended by the Ant-Kidnapping Unit of the Command, in the Nigeria’s South-South State.
The State Police Command spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement on Wednesday, disclosed that the victims, Chizaram Onuche and Chidinma Onuche, both seven years old, were allegedly lured and drugged by their assailants before killing them.
“Aniekan Uko, 27, a native of Akwa Ibom State, lured the children to an uncompleted building in the second Pipeline area of Rukpokwu, Port Harcourt, where he drugged them.
“After sedating them with a drink known as Black Bullet, he proceeded to slaughter and dismember them, collecting their blood in a bottle,” she said.
Iringe-Koko said that following his arrest, Aniekan reportedly confessed to the crime, stating that he was introduced to ritual killings by a native doctor whom he had previously seen performing rituals for other individuals.
“Subsequently, on March 23, operatives arrested the native doctor, Kingsley Opurum, 43, a native of Etche area, Rivers State for his alleged role into the killings.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the native doctor instructed Aniekan to provide human body parts and blood to perform a ritual intended to make him wealthy,” Irine-Koko said.
She further disclosed that the police also arrested Aniekan’s girlfriend and one Friday Silas, 47, who allegedly allowed the ritual killings to take place in his uncompleted building in Rukpokwu.
Officers who visited the crime scene recovered several incriminating items, including photographs of unidentified individuals and a bottle filled with the minor’s blood.
Others include an empty black bullet drink container, and a spoon used to scoop the blood of the victims.
The police spokesperson said that the bodies of the children have been deposited at the morgue for an autopsy.
Iringe-Koko said that the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, CP Olesegun Adepoju, assured the public that perpetrators involved in the gruesome killings would face full prosecution.
“Investigations are ongoing to uncover further details and identify any additional accomplices,” he concluded.
