POLICE ARRESTS MAN FOR RAPING PASTORS’S PREGNANT WIFE TO DEATH IN RIVERS
A suspect named Emeka has been taken into custody by men from the Rivers State Police Command. Emeka is suspected of being the leader of a group that killed Mrs. Chigbewejim Steward, a pastor’s wife, in the Abarikpo community of the state’s Ahoada East Local Government Area.
Following a fight with Mrs. Steward earlier in the day, the suspect and his crew stormed into her home at midnight on February 12, 2023, abducted the woman, and took her to an unidentified location.
It was said that the culprit left the town after learning that the police were pursuing him.
The deceased’s husband, an Assistant Pastor with Seventh Day Adventist Church in the Abarikpo community, Lawyer Steward, while speaking with newsmen on Thursday, confirmed the suspect’s arrest.
Steward recalled, “Yes Emeka, masterminded the death of my wife after he quarreled with her that my wife called him a wicked man. He told my wife you will see wickedness today.
“And that night around 1 am February 12, 2023, those bad boys came to my house and broke the door and took my wife away.
“My wife was five months pregnant. Emeka and his gang raped and strangled her to death. The police arrested him on Thursday. Now he is in the police custody. I have gone to the station to give my statement.
“I want the government to intervene so that justice will prevail. I thank the police for their effort in arresting these bad boys”.
He claimed that Emeka and his crew belong to a cult called “In Iceland” and that when his wife was abducted, they had brought her to their hideout, where they had gang-raped and killed her.
The steward further mentioned that his wife’s body was found near a fishing pond many hours after she was kidnapped, covered in injuries and bleeding from her vagina.
Reports state that the late Mrs. Steward was a strong advocate against cult and criminal activity inside the Abarikpo community.
Upon being contacted, Grace Iringe-Koko, the State Police Command spokesperson, promised to inquire with the Divisional Police Officer and provide an update.
She had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer who pleaded anonymity as he could not speak on the issue said that aside from Emeka, two other suspects were arrested in respect of the crime.
“It was not only Emeka. Two others were also arrested by the Ahoada Police Division. They are all in custody,” he stated.