Police Arrest Suspected Cultists For Burying Man Alive In Rivers
Two notorious kidnappers who allegedly abducted and buried alive a former Community Development Committee Chairman in Kereken-Boue, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Praise Daakian, have been arrested by the Rivers State Police Command.
The suspects were said to have collected N200,000 as part of payment for the ransom from the victim’s wife before burying him alive.
The state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, disclosed this during his maiden news briefing in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Monday.
While noting that the suspects confessed to the murder, Disu said two armed robbery suspects were also arrested during a raid in the community.
He stated, “On the day of resumption, I had before me a security deficit in many areas of Rivers State. One of those areas was Khana Local Government, and we immediately deployed tactical units to quell the situation.
“After concluding intense surveillance on November 15, in separate crack operations, men of the Anti-Cultism Unit arrested Baridapdo Igia, 33, and Elvis Gordon, 26, two suspected armed robbers and kidnappers in Kereken-Boue community of Khana Local Government Area.
“After a series of interrogations, the duo confessed to being leaders of Iceland and Degbam cult groups in Khana Local Government Area, respectively and have been terrorising Khana Local Government Area for the past three years.
“These cult groups have been known to have endless clashes in the community. During interrogations, they also admitted to kidnapping and burying alive one Praise Daakian, a former CDC Chairman in Khana Local Government Area.
”They murdered the victim after collecting the sum of NGN200,000 as part of payment for his ransom from the victim’s wife.”
He added, “The duo also confessed to murdering nine other victims from 2021 to 2023 and were the main reason for the partial evacuation of the community within this same period.
“Investigations are still ongoing to uncover the full scale of the suspects’ operations.”
Kazeem Badmus is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience. A professional in journalism and media writing, Kazeem prioritses accuracy and factual reportage of issues. He is also a dexterous finder of the truth with conscious delivery of unbiased and development oriented stories.
