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By Joel Anekwe
The Rivers State Police command Thursday made a breakthrough in the bid to contain the repeated killing of young women in the state capital, Port Harcourt, with the arrest of the person suspected to be behind the killings.
Five young women were murdered in hotels in the D-Line, Odili Road, Waterlines and Rumuola areas of the city, including Omoku, leading to a manhunt for those supposedly behind the incidents.
Arrested Thursday and paraded by the Rivers police command on Friday, the key suspect in the serial killing of five young women in Rivers State, identified as Gracious David West, said he was forced into killing young girls in hotel rooms to avenge his mother who he said died from illness after she was poisoned by unknown person
Making the confession Friday at the headquarters of the state Police command in Port Harcourt, the 39 year old native of Asari Toru local government area said he was working alone and not for anyone or any group.
“My mother was poisoned and she died of sickness. I am the only son of my father. I don’t have anybody, I work alone, I don’t even have a house,” he stated.
Asked why he kills, West said: “I don’t know what is causing that to me, I don’t really know what moves me into doing that but after doing it I start regretting, I start crying why I did it. I even went to Lord Chosen Church close to Obigbo branch. I told the pastor that I kill girls in hotel that if he can help me that I don’t know what is wrong with me.
“The pastor invited me to a crusade saying that I should attend and meet the general overseer that he would help me. I went to the crusade but there was no chance to see the general overseer and the Pastor asked me to go that he could not help me,” he said.
West who is said to be an ex-militant, was reportedly rehabilitated by the popular Omega Prayer Ministry (OPM) and assisted to secure a job, but stole the property of the organisation and absconded.
On how he kills the girls, he said; “I buy kitchen knives from those Hausa people that hawk knives. After I take them to the hotel and sometime in the middle of the night I will wake them up and with knives would threaten to kill them if they screamed. I will use it to cut the pillow case with which I tie them so that they cannot drag with me when l want to kill them.
“Some of them in that fear would now promise to give me money so that I will spare them. So will collect their ATM cards and their pins, I would deceive them to believe that I will not kill them while tying them up.”
Addressing the press Friday, state commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura, said a manhunt for Port Harcourt Hotel serial killer had yielded the suspect who was arrested in a commercial bus enroute Akwa Ibom State.
The arrest came about 48 hours after his identity was revealed from a CCTV camera footage gotten at the hotel where he killed his last victim, along SARS Road, Rukpokwu area of Rivers State.
Dandaura said that the suspect seeing that Rivers State was no longer conducive for him attempted to escape but was arrested by operatives of SARS Bori who were on a routine stop and search along the Ogoni axis of the East West Road.
He said; “The Rivers police command is indeed elated with this achievement, but this did not come add a surprise. It could be recalled that on my assumption of duty as commissioner of police three months ago, I made a pledge to the good people of the state that I was here with the clear mandate, to fight crime and criminality head on and bring same to barest minimum.
“The suspect is definitely not alone in these killings, though he had made useful confessions but the command will go beyond his confession to ensure that a conclusive end is achieved that will serve the interest of justice.
“So far three suspects are in our custody and are being investigated in connection with these killings. They will be paraded as soon as investigation is concluded”.
“Gracious David West confessed to have carried out five killings in Port Harcourt, one in Owerri and one in Lagos State,” the Police commissioner said.
