How 23yr old suspected ritualist scaled fence to escape police custody

Twenty-four hours after he was paraded before the press for allegedly killing his niece for ritual purposes by the Rivers State police, 23 year old 200 level student, Ifeanyi Dike, of the Department of Physics, University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, has escaped from police custody.

Ifeanyi Dike is alleged to have killed his niece, 8-year-old Miss Chikaso Mezuba, in his room at the Eliozu area, of Port Harcourt. He confessed to the Police during interrogation that he lured the girl into his room and gave her an overdose of chrolohydrate before killing her and cut off her sex organ, two small fingers, two eyes, left breast and part of her forehead for money making ritual purpose.

The Police Public Relations Officer for Rivers, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, told journalists that Ifeanyi was arrested by local vigilante in Eliozu, at 1a.m. on Thursday, August 17, as he was approaching a garbage site to dump the remains of his victim which he put in a basin and covered with fresh plantain leaves.

The father of the deceased, Mr. Ernest Ezewuba, who lives about two blocks from Ifeanyi’s residence on the same street, in Eliozu axis of Port Harcourt said at the police station his daughter had been missing for about 24 hours.

The suspect was taken to the Okporo Police Station where his statement, and from where he escaped, was taken after the police had searched his house where the missing organs of the little girl were found in a small glass box.

The father of the victim, Mr. Ezewuba, narrated how Ifeany escaped from Police custody. He said: “After taking statements from me and Ifeanyi, I went home while he was detained at the Okporo Police Station.

“The same day, I was called by the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, Sergeant Blessing at Okporo Police Station to come over to the station, intimating me that an order in form of a signal from Abuja has been given that the matter should be transferred to the State Criminal Department, CID. I was informed that the commissioner of Police had asked that the matter be moved to the state CID, immediately.

“I got dressed and drove to the Okporo Police Station. Ifeanyi was taken out of the cell in hand cuffs and led into a Police operational vehicle. I entered my vehicle and with some police officers we drove to the state CID. On getting to the station, we made statements after which the victim escaped, jumping the fence. At the time of his escape he had no hand cuffs on him.

Meanwhile, the South-South Zonal Chairman of the United Action for Democracy, Mr. George Enefa, had given the police 7 days to produce the suspect or have the group to contend with.