How Rivers serial killer concealed act

Anthony Ndubuisi, an alleged kidnapper and serial killer, had taken advantage of isolated residence to perpetrate his criminal activities, neighbours said.

The Umuebule 1 residence of the kidnapper is very far from the busy Oyigbo/Aba/Port Harcourt Expressway and very difficult to access because of the dilapidated nature of the road.

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Umuebule 1 is a sleepy community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State and shares boundary with Oyigbo, another local government area.

The community, though fast developing because of presence of non-indigenes, has suffered infrastructural neglect owing to poor government presence. It took this reporter several hours to meander through dilapidated road to get to Umuebule 1, an agrarian community noted for its rich agricultural produce.

The suspect is said to be a trained cobbler who designs and repairs shoes but later ventured into buying and selling of second hand shoes. All the houses located along the stretch of his residence have high fences. His apartment equally has a high fence with a big gate.

His last victim was said to have given his wife the detailed contact of the suspected killer before he embarked on the ill-fated journey.

Having waited for two days without seeing or hearing from her husband, the wife of the deceased called his number and that was how the bubble burst.

The wife of the suspected killer, according to security sources, was said to have picked the call and told the caller that her husband would never come back.

The matter was reported to the police who deployed forensics to locate the victim.

The invasion of his residence and the discovery made thereafter have created fear within the neighbourhood. A lot of people were unwilling to talk about the incident when our correspondent arrived the community, but those who summoned courage to speak described the suspect as a quiet looking gentleman, just as they expressed surprise at the discoveries made in his apartment.

A resident of the area who simply gave his name as Nwoke said he could vouch that the suspect would not hurt a fly given his gentle and quiet disposition but was stunned at what was discovered in his house.

“I want to believe that his gentle posture was a decoy he put up to confuse those who might pry into his criminal activities. I’m shocked at what happened. He must have taken advantage of the lonely nature of the area. If you look around, you will notice that all the houses here are fenced with gates. Everybody stays indoors and nobody knows what is happening in the next apartment,” he stated.

Another resident who pleaded anonymity for security reasons said that he normally sees vehicles and Keke, filled with bags believed to be shoes, drive through the road leading to the house.

Another resident who also refused to disclose his identity said the suspect  enjoyed staying indoors.

“Since I packed into this community, I have seen him twice along the road and we greeted but I think he stays indoors often. Until his criminal activity was exposed, I see him as a quiet man who goes about his normal business,” he said.

He blamed the incident on the poor state of the road which he said made it difficult for residents to move about freely and also for the police to parade the area.

The Rivers State Police Command Anti-kidnapping unit raided the hideout of the suspect in the early hours of June 29, 2020.

The suspect, who was paraded before journalists, confessed that he specialized in abducting and killing his victims. He said that he lures his victims to his house on a request to supply him second hand shoes and admitted to having abducted and killed four of his victims, including a Niger Republic national since he started his ugly trade in February.

He told journalists that he drugged them before strangling them.

Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mukan Joseph, who said he was arrested through discreet and technological tracking, explained that the suspect was tracked down through the handset of his last victim.