Man nabbed over killing of Rivers 51-year-old driver

The Rivers State Police Command said its operatives have arrested a 31-year-old man, Kelechi Wufurum, for allegedly killing a commercial bus driver identified as Ifeanyi Abobo in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

The 51-year-old victim was said to have been lured to the Ubima community under the pretext of a transport job, unaware that Wufurum had sinister motives.

The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen at the command headquarters along Moscow Road in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

Iringe-Koko said the suspect and the victim had an initial altercation before the former used a cutlass on the minibus driver near a forest and subsequently sold his vehicle for N2.4 million.

She stated, “He hit him on the head, and when the victim tried to resist, he used a cutlass and struck him again on the head. The victim collapsed, and he zoomed off with his minibus and sold both the vehicle and his mobile phone.

“When the report got to the command, the Police Special Operations and Intelligence Team swung into action.

“They carried out a discreet investigation and arrested the suspect. Those who purchased the victim’s vehicle and phone were also arrested.”

The suspect, Wufurum, who confessed to the crime, explained how he lured the victim into the bush, overpowered him, and made away with his minibus.

“I negotiated with a bus driver that we would go to work. When we got to the location, I used a stick to hit him to prevent him from attacking me. When he picked up another stick, I hit him and took his vehicle,” he said.

Our correspondent, who was at the briefing, reports that the suspect’s cousin, Azubuike Oyemechi, who was contacted to facilitate the sale, and the buyer of the vehicle, Ugo Ikenna, also gave accounts of their involvement before newsmen.