The Rivers State Police Command has said that its operatives have killed a criminal kingpin who orchestrated the murder of the Community Development Committee Chairman of the Mgbuoshimini community in Rumueme Kingdom in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state in January this year.
The police said the kingpin and his gang invaded the community on October 9, 2017, killing 22 persons before disappearing into thin air.
The state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the command headquarters on Moscow Road in Port Harcourt on Thursday.
Disu revealed that after the gang leader, identified as Peter Chukwu, escaped during a raid to arrest him by operatives, a list containing the names of 11 persons he had marked for assassination was discovered in his hotel room.
He disclosed that Chukwu was a loyalist to a notorious cultist known as Daw Waney, whose gang killed about 13 worshippers returning from a cross-over service on January 1, 2017, in Omoku in the Ogba/Egbeme/Ndoni LGA of the state.
Disu stated, “Peter ‘Daddy’ Chukwu, a.k.a. Oboni, a native of Omoku in Rivers State, was a notorious gangster whose criminal enterprise was multi-faceted, involving cultism, kidnapping, murder, and assassination, among other crimes.
“He rose to prominence in 2017 when he was appointed as the executioner-general of the Iceland cult group in the Mgbuoshimini community of Rivers State. This role was conferred on him by the infamous cultist and kidnap kingpin, Johnson Igwedibia, popularly known as ‘Don Waney,’ to whom he was a staunch loyalist.
“Johnson Igwedibia, famously recognised as Don Waney, was a notorious cult figure who instilled fear in Rivers State. His demise came at the hands of a collaborative mission involving the Nigerian Army and the State Security Service in 2018, at the border between Rivers and Imo states.”
Regarding the activities of Chukwu, police boss said, “On the 13th of January, 2024, some gunmen went to Peculiar Faith Ministry in Rumueme after a church service. They arrived in a black SUV, all dressed in black, and extracted one Ndidi Livingstone, the CDC Chairman. In the presence of his wife, children, and church members, he was repeatedly shot and killed.
“The tactical team from the Rivers State Police Command and a team from the Intelligence Response Team, Abuja, were formed and tasked with unravelling this crime.
“All the intelligence gathered indicated that the crimes were committed by one Peter Chukwu, popularly known as ‘Daddy Chukwu’, and his gang. We profiled him and discovered that he has been on the wanted list of this command since 2017.
“He was placed on the wanted list because, on October 9, 2017, he entered the community, killed 22 persons, and escaped. Since then, he periodically emerges from hiding to perpetrate various crimes in that community.
“He arrogated to himself the position of chief adjudicator in the community. He became a terror to members of that community and some parts of the state in general.”
Disu further said Chukwu killed more people and was involved in other violent crimes, including kidnapping.
Continuing, he said, “There was a particular lady called Grace Asuquo who ignored his invitation out of fear. She was assaulted by this criminal, tortured to death, and her body dumped in front of her parents’ house.
“He also mutilated the ears of residents whenever they disobeyed him. He also operated an assassination squad. Assign him the job, give him the money, and he gets the job done.
“His gang was hired to assassinate one Victor Golor, and they attempted to kill him on December 12, 2023, and on January 6, 2024. However, they failed because they chose a day when the supposed victim was having a party and there was a significant security presence.
“On the 6th of March, 2024, Daddy Chukwu and his gang planted an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in the hotel of this man they wanted to kill. They detonated it, causing extensive damage to the hotel. We had to call in the fire brigade to assist in extinguishing the fire from the explosion.”
The Rivers CP further stated that the gang was so sophisticated that they installed a tracking device on the vehicle of their target for assassination, adding that they had a network of informants who “they use for intelligence gathering on what is happening in the community and what the security operatives are planning concerning him.”
Disu said, “On the 6th of March 2024, based on credible intelligence, we located one of his hideouts in a hotel in Igwutita. A team of operatives stormed the location, but ‘Daddy Chukwu’, also known as ‘Ogboni’, escaped onto the roof, jumped into the next compound, and relocated to Delta State.
“But after he escaped, we discovered in his hotel room a list of 11 people on his assassination list. So, we quickly decided that he needed to be apprehended before he could carry out the plan.
“Officers of this command gathered intelligence, and operatives consisting of Rivers State tactical teams, the Intelligence Response Team, with the assistance of Delta State Police Command, raided his hideout in Ibusa, Delta State.
“He was found hiding in the residence of his herbalist, where he went for spiritual fortification. He put up fierce resistance, and in an attempt to escape, he was fatally wounded and succumbed to his injuries before arriving at the hospital.
“Some of his gang members have been arrested, and frantic efforts are ongoing to apprehend others still at large, as well as associates and sponsors.”
He added that items recovered from the gang include a tinted black Toyota Highlander, one AK-47 rifle, IED explosives, Army and police camouflage uniforms, and a pump-action shotgun, among others.
