The Rivers State Police Command has arrested Felix Nwaobakata, the commander of a local vigilante group, with two human skulls and other human remains at his hideout in Omoku, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA).
News About Nigeria reports that the operation also led to the arrest of seven other members for various crimes, including murder.
Nwaobakata, who leads the ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee (OSPAC), is a key suspect in the murder of two brothers in the Idu community on May 1, 2024. The brothers were accused of being kidnappers.
Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, announced the arrests in a statement issued on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Iringe-Koko said that the police received numerous complaints regarding the operations of OSPAC, particularly in ONELGA, where clashes with other security agencies and attacks on police divisions had been reported.
On May 9, 2024, Alhaji Usman Seleh, Chairman of the Hausa Indigenous Group in ONELGA, reported that OSPAC had abducted one of its members.
Despite several police invitations, Nwaobakata refused to cooperate, leading to a failed attack on the Omoku police division by OSPAC members.
In response, the police launched a tactical operation at the OSPAC camp in Omoku, resulting in the arrest of Cheta Benjamin, Joshua Ekwosa, Innocent Ahiakwu, and four others.
Nwaobakata was subsequently apprehended on June 17, 2024, with human remains found in his possession.
He is also implicated in the murder of Collins and Newman Ugorji, whose bodies were taken to the OSPAC secretariat after being killed.
