The Rivers State Police Command has arrested four people, including a native doctor and a teenage girl, for their alleged involvement in the gruesome murder of two young sisters in Rukpokwu, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.
The victims, Chizaram Onuche and Chidinma Onuche, both seven years old, were reportedly lured by one of the suspects, 27-year-old Aniekan Uko, who drugged and killed them in an uncompleted building at the Ogbodo Pipeline area. Police say Uko also drained their blood for ritual purposes.
A lawyer assisting with the investigation, Linda Ojims, revealed that the children were returning from church when Uko stopped them and led them away. She suggested that he might have hypnotized them, making them follow him without resistance.
Ojims explained that Uko gave the children a drink that rendered them unconscious before committing the crime. She said, “The children were coming back from church. So along the line, the suspect, I don’t know whether he hypnotised or lured them, took them to an uncompleted building. He then induced the drink he gave to them. The children slept, he raped and murdered them.”
Police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko confirmed the arrests in a statement on Wednesday. She said officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit acted swiftly and apprehended the main suspect and his accomplices on March 23, 2025. She described the incident as “horrific.”
During interrogation, Uko reportedly confessed that he got involved in ritual killings after visiting a native doctor. He claimed to have seen the native doctor perform similar rituals for others seeking wealth and was instructed to provide fresh human remains and blood.
Police recovered key evidence from the crime scene, including a bottle containing the victims’ blood, a kitchen knife used in the murder, an empty can of Black Bullet, which was used to drug the children, and a spoon used to collect their blood.
The victims’ bodies have been taken to the mortuary for an autopsy.
Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, assured the public that the suspects would be prosecuted. He urged residents to remain alert and report any suspicious activity to the police.
He said, “Investigations are ongoing to uncover further details and possible accomplices. The safety and security of all citizens remain our top priority.”
Meanwhile, Ojims commended the police for their quick action and urged them to ensure the suspects face justice. She stressed the need for a thorough prosecution, adding, “If these perpetrators were not caught, we don’t even know what would have happened next. It could have been any other person I know. So I’m looking up to the police to do a diligent job because justice for one is justice for all.”
She further called on the authorities to prepare their findings properly and ensure the case is diligently handled in court. “The children need justice because they didn’t do anything wrong. So the police should, after the investigation, prepare their findings and file the matter to court. We are also ready to follow up. And I pray that they also help in sanitizing the society through this medium,” she said.
