The Police Command in Rivers State says its men have arrested some members of a criminal gang suspected of murdering car-hire drivers and stealing their vehicles.
The gang is also said to harvest organs of murdered drivers for ritual purposes.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement in Port Harcourt on Monday, linked the group to multiple cases of drivers that got missing.
She revealed that the arrest of one gang member, Anthony Chima, exposed the lawless activities of the gang in the state.
She stated: “The discovery of this criminal enterprise targeting Uber drivers in the state followed the disappearance of one Oghenevwarhe Barry Akpobome, an Uber driver.
“Upon investigating the disappearance, Police operatives arrested one Anthony Chima, a 35-year-old graduate of Political Science from the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt.
“Under interrogation, Chima confessed to being recruited into a gang that specialised in luring taxi drivers into ambushes and stealing their vehicles,” she stated.
Iringe-Koko said that Chima’s testimony showed the gang’s further gruesome actions of killing the drivers and harvesting their body parts for ritual purposes.
“The suspect said that he was introduced into the gang by his friend, Amfoh Abu, the group’s arms dealer, and another individual simply identified as ‘Reason.’
“Investigation further revealed that ‘General Effizy,’ the gang’s leader, is a prominent figure in the Greenland cult and a notoriouss kidnapper in the state,” she added.
The police spokesperson said that Chima confessed that he randomly obtains the Uber drivers’ phone numbers and pretends to be a passenger in need of a ride.
She said that on January 10, Chima contacted Akpobome and directed the driver to pick him up at Reason’s residence.
“Disguised as a passenger, Chima lured the unsuspecting Uber driver to a remote area in Aminigboko, where he met Reason and General Effizy, along with four-armed gang members.
“The driver was forcefully removed from the vehicle and taken to Effizy’s shrine, where he was tied up, gagged and gruesomely murdered.
“Chima later led the police to the shrine and Effizy’s residence, where personnel recovered the victim’s skull and a locally fabricated Baretta pistol,” she said.
Iringe-Koko said that a manhunt has been launched to capture the fleeing gang members, stating that Chima would face legal actions.
She said that the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, Tunji Disu, has advised Uber drivers to be cautious while picking up or transporting passengers, particularly to remote or potentially dangerous areas.
“The Akpobome incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers that lurk in the shadows, and the importance of vigilance and cooperation with the law enforcement agencies,” the police image maker said. (NAN)
