Police in Rivers detain four officers over kidnap of hotel staff

Arrest two cultists for burying man alive
Rivers State Police Command has said it detained four of its personnel for allegedly kidnapping a Port Harcourt hotel staff and demanding N1million ransom from the family.

The command also paraded 12 suspected armed robbers, kidnappers and cultists for alleged involvement in criminal activities in parts of the state.

The Guardian gathered that some policemen on patrol had intercepted one Darlington Bieh, who hails from Taabaa in Khana local council, around Choba in the Obio/Akpor part of the state. Thereafter, they took him to an unknown destination and demanded ransom.

It was learnt that the policemen accosted the victim around 8:00 p.m., on Saturday as he headed to work. They searched his bags, pockets, and phone, but found nothing incriminating.

A source disclosed that the police, while scrolling through Bieh’s phone, saw pictures indicating the young man worked in a big hotel around the area.

The source said the policemen told the victim to ask his family to send N1million as bail, threatening to kill him and throw his corpse into the Choba River, if the family failed to comply.

The source also claimed that the policemen took the victim to Aluu community in Ikwerre local council, while they awaited payment from his family. Instead of calling his father, however, Bieh had called his boss, the owner of the hotel, who, in turn, called a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), that pretended to be the victim’s father.

The source further revealed that the officers negotiated a ransom with the DPO, through Bieh’s phone. At about 1:00 a.m., on Sunday, the DPO led his men to the location in Aluu, disarmed, and arrested them.

Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, in his maiden press briefing in Port Harcourt, said some officers who were in contact with the victim had been arrested. He claimed he read about the incident on social media and swung into action.

“They have been arrested. I am waiting for a complaint from the victim, so that I will know what and what to look out for. The officers are in custody. We are not hiding anything. When the complaint comes, we will give you details of what we have done. If I don’t get complaints from members of the public on this, I will believe everything is okay. All of us are in this together,” Disu said.

He noted that operatives of the command also arrested two cult leaders at Kereken in Khana local council, after they had kidnapped a community development committee chairman, collected N200, 000 ransom, and buried the victim alive.

He said the suspects would be charged to court following completion of investigation.