The Rivers state Police Command on Friday paraded one Gracious David West suspected as being behind serial killing of young girls in Port Harcourt.
Parading the suspect at the state Police Command Headquarters in Port Harcourt, Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura, expressed happiness that barely three days after he addressed the media on the rising cases of mindless killing in hotels in the state and the measures put in place by the command to arrest the seemingly disturbing trend which he said had attracted both international and local condemnation, the suspect behind the killing has been arrested.
He told reporters that the suspect was arrested on a commercial bus as he tried to escape to Akwa Ibom state.
He said that the suspect confessed to have carried out five killings in Port Harcourt, one in Owerri and another in Lagos state, saying that the suspect was about to leave the state when was apprehended by operatives of the special anti robbery squad.
He said, “Rivers state police command is indeed elated with this achievement but this did not come as a surprise, it could be recalled that on my assumption of duty as the 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 the barest minimum, I will not be deterred and I will continue to deliver quality policing services to the state hence I call on all stakeholders to join the new police team to take the state to the new level”.
He said that his team has intensified patrol on East West, Elele /Owerri and Khana and Gokana roads and called for collective responsibility in tackling crime and criminality across the state.
The suspect, Gracious David West, from Asari-toru Local Government Area of Rivers state, confessed to have carried out series of killings in the state and blamed the devil for his actions.
He explained that he has undergone several deliverance in many churches in Port Harcourt and pleaded for mercy.