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The Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Mustapha Dandaura, has said that the serial killing of young women in parts of the state in recent times is cult related.
Dandaura made the disclosure while briefing newsmen Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
He explained that the victims had a piece of white cloth wrapped around their neck or waist region, which he said signified cult action.
The Police boss said that the suspects usually drugged their victims before strangling them, adding that without that, it would have been difficult to kill the victims as the act may attract attention of nearby people.
As a panacea, he said all hotel operators have been ordered to mount Circuit Cable Television (CCTV) system in their premises.
He explained that the system will help in regulating activities within and around the hotel area.
Another solution, he said, is the compulsory training of all personnel and security staff of hotels which must be carried out by the Police and other security agencies in the state.
Dandaura maintained that forthwith all hotel customers would be profiled, with their valid identification cards placed at the reception unit.
“All hotel customers will be profiled. Those with swimming pools will also have expert divers in case of any emergency,” he said.
Dandaura disclosed that eight women have been reported strangled to death in different hotels in Rivers State in the last two months.
To this end, he advised owners of hotels and guest houses to discourage lodgers who book rooms in their facility for only two or three hours.
“Eight women were strangled to death in different hotel rooms. The same mode of operation was applied in the killings. That is after drugging the women the suspect will now strangulate them to death.
“Because if the women were not drugged, there is no way they could not have raise alarm while being strangled. So, the serial killer normally drugs his victims and thereafter, he strangles them.
“And we also discovered that after the killings, a white cloth material is rolled on the victims’ necks or waists. So, there is an element of cultism in all the killings in the hotels that have taken place,” he added.
The Rivers State CP pointed out that a task force comprising of the Police, DSS and the ministry of Tourism and Culture was also on ground to ensure that the repeated killing of young women in hotels in the state was not repeated.
“We now have a task force, no more short-time service in hotels. Every customer must book full time,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to Dandaura, one of the suspects the command arrested on Monday in Port Harcourt was helping the police with useful information about the activities of other suspects in the state.
Our reporter added that some women groups in the state, such as the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) and others, Wednesday staged a protest in the state over the repeated killing of young women.
