The arrested notorious kidnapper, armed robber and murderer, Justice Oti, aka High Tension, has revealed that a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Mana, who represents Ahoada East constituency one, is a member of his gang.
Oti, an indigene of Odisama in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers state, who was born on March 7, 1993, admitted being a member of Icelander cult group and he had killed no fewer than fifteen members of a rival Greenlander cult group in the area.
The notorious kidnapper (Oti) exclusively told The Nation yesterday in Port Harcourt that his decision to kill people was because members of Greenlander cult group also killed over 15 Icelander cult group members.
Oti, who embraced the amnesty offer of the Nyesom Wike’s administration, revealed that he did not completely surrender his arms and ammunition, stating that the Greenlander members never submitted their guns, but only deceived members of the amnesty committee by surrendering sticks.
The kidnapper, who was arrested in Bauchi State, pointed out that the persons he killed were as a result of revenge of previous killings by the rival cult gang, but he was silent on the roles played by the Rivers lawmaker in the gang.
Oti disclosed that when his deputy in the gang, Lucky, aka Iron, was killed by the rival cult group and his head was cut and taken away, with the Greenlander members threatening to also kill him, he decided to escape to Bauchi, after hiding his AK-47 rifle and ammunition in his village.
Rivers police command decided to formally write to the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, of Andoni constituency, to release Mana, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for interview by the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS), headed by Mr, Akin Fakorede.
The police letter that was obtained through a source close to the Rivers Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed, was dated October 9, 2017, with the command indicating that it was investigating cases of kidnapping and murder in Ahoada East LGA of the state involving Oti and members of his gang.
The police’s letter also indicated that inviting the lawmaker was to facilitate the command’s investigation, with the speaker asked to release Mana for an interview with the commander of F-SARS on October 12 this year at 12 noon.
The Rivers lawmaker was contacted by The Nation for his reaction through his mobile line from 6:44 p.m., but the line kept ringing out, while a text message that was later sent to the same line had not been replied as at press time.
The Rivers police commissioner had earlier declared that his command had zero tolerance for crimes and criminality.
Also paraded yesterday by the police was Blessed Francis, a 20-year-old, 200 Level Geology student of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), who was arrested in Port Harcourt for burglary and armed robbery, barely three months after another UNIPORT undergraduate, Ifeanyi Dike, was arrested for ritual killing and he is still standing trial..
A gang of three gun-running youths, comprising two ND-2 students of the Rivers state government-owned Port Harcourt Polytechnic: Frank Nwaaknma, 22, from Ibaa, Emohua LGA of Rivers state and Ujie Francis, from Obudu in Cross Rivers state, were also arrested.
The third member of the three-member gang, Chigozie Junior Koro, 32, from Ogbakiri in Emohua LGA of Rivers, stated that he and Nwaaknma only wanted to assist Francis (Ujie) to sell for N100,000, a pistol he claimed to have picked during communal clash in his Cross River village, with promise of giving them N10,000, before they were apprehended by the police.
The 27-year-old Daniel Okpougo, an indigene of Edoha in Ahoada East LGA, who was arrested with ammunition, disclosed that High Tension (Oti) killed his uncle and he decided to travel to Patani in Delta state to buy the bullets to avenge the death before he was arrested on the East-West Road.
Others arrested for various criminal activities included Loveday Opi, an indigene of Egbema in Ogba/Egbeme/Ndoni LGA and Sunday Didia, who hails from Egbeda in Emohua LGA, both of Rivers state, as well as Kingsley Ofomata from Imo state, John Elvis, an indigene of Auchi in Edo state and Chimankpa Ukomwa, from Orlu in Imo state.
An excited Mr. Syriacus Amuchie, who was working offshore with an unnamed company, but lost his Toyota forerunner Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) to a gang of four armed robbers, while the vehicle was later recovered, admonished members of the public to continue to support the police, especially the F-SARS.
Amuchie revealed that the SUV was snatched at gunpoint around 7:55 p.m. on July 6 this year, at the gate of his house in Rumuigbo, Port Harcourt, while waiting for the gate to be opened, with the car later recovered in Ada-George area of Port Harcourt, declaring that F-SARS operatives should be commended, not vilified.