…Police confirm killing of Rivers chief, as family seeks justice
By Davies Iheamnachor
PORT HARCOURT: A 300-level student of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State, has been shot dead by suspected cultists.
This is as State Police Command confirmed that cultists killed a chief in Obelle Community, Emohua Local Government Area, LGA, of the state on Saturday.
The Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, Superintendent of Police Grace Iringe-Koko, made the confirmation on Sunday
Meanwhile, a source privy to the killing of the 300-level student, noted that the killing said the assailants were members of a rival group.
The source, who is also a student of the university, said the killers trailed their target to an area in Rumuolumeni, the host community, and shot him dead.
The source added that the cultists abandoned the corpse after killing him, and that police officers from the area later recovered the body.Reacting, Iringe-Koko who confirmed the incident Iringe-Koko said: “The Rivers State Police Command is currently investigating a suspected cult-related incident.
that resulted in the death of a student in Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt.
“On Saturday, 20th July 2025, at about 11:30 a.m., a report was received at the Rumuolumeni Police Station that one Julius Okpor, a 300-level student of Ignatius Ajuru University and an indigene of Okposi in Ogba/Egbema Local Government Area, was allegedly shot by members of a rival cult group.
“The tragic incident occurred around Cecilia Road, Rumuolumeni. Police operatives immediately visited the scene, and the victim was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), where he was later confirmed dead by medical personnel.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that the attack may be connected to ongoing rival cult activities. The Rivers State Police Command has launched a full-scale investigation to apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice.”
Family seeks justice
In a related the development, the State Police Command has confirmed that cultists killed a chief in Obelle Community, Emohua Local Government Area of the state on Saturday.
Iringe-Koko, made the confirmation yesterday.
A source in the community had earlier reported that the chief was killed alongside two others, but the police clarified that the chief was the only casualty of the attack.
It was gathered that the daredevil invaders killed a respected leader in the community, Chief Ferdinand Dabiri.
It was learned that the victim was the Vice Chairman of the Obelle Council of Chiefs and that he was gunned down during a community town hall meeting.
It was alleged that suspected members of the Iceland cult group terrorizing the area, led by one ‘Cairo,’ approached the venue where Chief Dabiri and other chiefs were holding a meeting and attacked them.
Family seeks justice
Meanwhile, one of the children of the deceased, Joseph Eze Dabiri, who expressed deep sorrow over the gruesome murder of his father, called on security agencies and the government to ensure justice is served.
He said: “I heard that a guy came with a gun while my father was in a meeting at Omuwoka village in Obelle, shot him twice, and fled. We are calling on the police to ensure that this killer is found and brought to book.”
It would be recalled that in November 2024, one Miss Loveth Amadi led a protest to the Rumuji Police Division in Emohua LGA, accusing the same ‘Cairo’ of killing her father, Akpata Amadi—a member of the local vigilante group—and others in Obelle Community on November 4, 2024.
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