Police narrate how suspected cultists buried ex-community chairman alive in Rivers

The Rivers Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu said the suspects and their accomplices buried Daakian after collecting ₦200,000 as part of payment for a ransom from his wife.

Daakian was a former Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairman.

The police boss said the suspects confessed to being leaders of a notorious cult group in the state.

Disu said, “The Anti-Cultism Unit arrested Baridapdo Igia, 33yrs ‘m’ and Elvis Gordon, 26yrs ‘m’, two suspected armed robbers and kidnappers in the 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.

According to him, the suspects also confessed to killing nine other victims from 2021 to 2023.

“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 ₦200,000 as part of payment for his ransom from the victim’s wife.

“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,” Disu said. 

The police commissioner further disclosed that one Emmanuel Essien and Marshal Ime confessed to being members of a four-man armed robbery syndicate that terrorised parts of Port Harcourt in recent times.