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The Rivers State Police Command has arrested two suspected cultists over the alleged murder of a motorcycle rider from Jigawa State, whose remains were recovered from a forest in Mbiama, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The victim, identified as Sani Musa, was reportedly lured into the forest by the suspects, stabbed to death and robbed of his motorcycle. Police said the suspects allegedly hid his remains in the bush before escaping with the motorcycle.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the arrests in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday. She identified the suspects as Abubakar Sani, 24, and Yusuf Magaji, 20, both from Kano State.
Agabe disclosed that the arrests followed intelligence received on October 22, 2026, at about 1pm, indicating that some suspected cultists were dismantling a motorcycle believed to have been stolen at Choba Motor Park in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
Acting on the information, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), Emohua, moved to the location and arrested the two suspects. Preliminary investigations allegedly linked them to the killing of Musa, who hailed from Zago Town, Kafin Hausa Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The police spokesperson said the suspects confessed to the crime during interrogation and revealed that they had planned to transport the stolen motorcycle to Kano State through a waybill. She added that the suspects subsequently led investigators to the forest, where the victim’s decomposing remains were recovered.
The command said Musa’s family was contacted after the recovery, with arrangements made to release his remains for burial in line with Islamic rites and customs, as requested by the family.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Olugbenga Adepoju, ordered a more thorough investigation to establish the full circumstances surrounding the killing and identify any possible accomplices. He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to tackling cultism, murder and other violent crimes, while urging residents to provide credible information that could help prevent criminal activities.
