PORT HARCOURT – The Rivers State Police Command in collaboration with operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and the Delta State Police Command on Friday April 5, gunned down a wanted notorious criminal, responsible for the killing of over 22 residents of Mgbuoshimini community, a suburb in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The wanted criminal, identified as Peter Daddy Chukwu, also known as Oboni, is said to be.a native of Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.
Addressing pressmen at the state Police command headquarters in Moscow road, Port Harcourt on Thursday, the state Commissioner of Police CP Olatunji Disu, said the notorious suspect was a multi-faceted criminal who engaged in cultism, kidnapping, murder, and assassination of his targets.
The CP, who also paraded four suspected accomplices of the slain kingpin, explained that the criminal rose to prominence in 2017 after he became an executioner-general of a local cult group called Iceland in the Mgbuoshimini community, a position that was conferred on him by another ill-famed slain cultist and kidnap kingpin, Johnson Igwedibia, popularly known as ‘Don Waney’.
You may know that the infamous Don Waney, was a notorious cultist, whose activities instilled fear in the hearts of many in the State, killed by a combined team involving the Nigerian Army and the State Security Service in 2018, at the border between Rivers and Imo States.
CP Disu further noted that the notorious Chukwu, led an army of young assassins whom he trained and recruited to eliminate perceived enemies, as well as targets they were paid to kill.
“Peter Chukwu built a base of operation in Mgbuoshimini, a suburb in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, from where he recruited an army of young men who carried out his whims to the letter. With a massive following of cultists behind him, he launched a syndicate that served as assassins for hire, armed robbers, and gun runners.
“He always had a hit list that included persons who had offended or challenged him, those he considered a threat and those he had been paid to assassinate. Such was the nature of his villainous mind that at the mentioning of his name, people trembled.”
Disu further noted that the suspect caught the attention of the state police command under his watch when he killed the Community Development Council (CDC) Chairman of Mgbuoshimini, Ndidi Livingstone, in front of a church on January 13, 2024, after being declared wanted by the command in 2017.
“Daddy’ became an item of deep interest to Tunji Disu, the current commissioner of police, Rivers State Police Command, when, on the 13th of January, he and his murderous band shot and killed the Community Development Council (CDC) Chairman of Mgbuoshimini, Ndidi Livingstone, as he was stepping out of the auditorium of Peculiar Faith Ministries, Rumueme after a church service. After the dastardly act, they sped off in a waiting black SUV which the police have now recovered.
“The notorious gangster killed the CDC chairman because he collaborated with other stakeholders in establishing a local vigilante group known as OSPAC, aimed at safeguarding the community.”
The CP explained that the command became more determined to apprehend the fleeing suspect, when it uncovered a hit list authored by the wanted suspect containing 10 names from one of his hideouts in the state.
He added that after the suspect narrowly escaped arrest from his hotel room after he was rounded up by operatives of the state police command, he fled to Asaba in Delta State to evade arrest and to coordinate attacks on police formations so as to free his accomplices held in custody.
“After learning of the location of his hideout, on March 16, 2024, at about 1 a.m., operatives of a special task force of the Rivers State Police Command, comprising the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and operatives of the state command, attempted to arrest him. The suspect narrowly escaped by bursting through the ceiling and roofing sheets of the hotel, where he was cornered. He later jumped into a nearby compound and ran off, evading arrest.
“In his scramble to escape, he left behind his personal effects, including a hit list containing names of his next victims and other vital documents and gadgets that gave the Police a clear picture of the extent of sophistication he operated with. This necessitated the urgency in arresting the notorious criminal.
“Following his close shave with the authorities, he fled to Asaba in Delta State. He remained in hiding before returning briefly to Port Harcourt, where he boasted about his invincibility and the power of his charms. He returned to Delta, where he began plotting to kill the investigating police officers and to launch attacks on police facilities to free his arrested associates.”
Disu further disclosed that the police in its unrelenting efforts, tracked the suspect to Ibusa community in Delta State, in the house of a herbalist where he had gone to get spiritual fortification.
“Undeterred by the notorious gangster’s initial escape, on April 5, 2024, around 4 am, a coordinated team launched an assault on his hideout. The team, comprising the Rivers State Command Tactical Team and the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), advanced to Delta to locate the criminal’s hideout. With support from the Delta State Commissioner of Police, operatives from the command joined the conclusive operation, resulting in the neutralisation of the suspect following a fierce operation.
“He was tracked down and apprehended in Ibusa, Delta State, and found in a herbalist’s home where he sought spiritual fortification. Upon realising the presence of security forces surrounding the premises, Peter Daddy Chukwu fiercely resisted and attempted to flee. He put up a fierce resistance, and in an attempt to escape, he was fatally wounded and succumbed to the injury before arriving at the hospital.”
Highlighting the heinous crimes of the suspect, the CP noted that the suspect had been evading arrest since 2017, adding that efforts were currently in top gear to arrest all his associates and sponsors of the slain kingpin.
“On May 6, 2017, he murdered the secretary of the Rumueme Council of Chiefs, Chief Minikwu Chukwu, and one Jaja Optimist while they were gathering for a routine town meeting. Within the same month, he executed another community leader, Chief Mgbor.
“He continued his onslaught on those he had earmarked for destruction, and on July 30, 2017, Baridule Cletus Dunle was shot dead, while on October 4, 2017, Godspower Aligbo and Dickson Gogo-Jaja had their lives snuffed out by his men.
“On October 9, 2017, at about 3 am, he and his gang attacked the abattoir area of the Mgbuoshimini community and murdered 22 people in cold blood, burning some of their victims alive.
“This act caused the Police to declare him, and eight (8) others wanted. Consequently, he fled the community and went into hiding. He, however, resurfaced in 2023 and began another reign of terror. He set up another base in Mgbuoshimini as his previous base had been demolished after the crises that followed the massacre he perpetrated in 2017.
“On his return, he arrogated himself the position of chief adjudicator in the community and would frequently force people with disputes to appear before him. On one such occasion on January 2, 2023, he seized two residents of the community, Sunny Amadi and Victor Alabo, who he alleged had stolen phones. They were promptly brought before him, and subjected to torture through binding and severe beatings. He then proceeded to use a razor to chop off their ears.
He added, “Two days after the mutilation of the two men, on January 4, 2023, he invited Grace Asuquo to appear before him because he had received reports that she had stolen a phone. She did not honour his invitation for fear of his irrationality, which offended him. He commanded his boys to arrest her and bring her before him. When she was brought before him, he tortured her for a long time, eventually murdering her. He dumped her lifeless body in front of her father’s compound.
“Peter ‘Daddy’ Chukwu was also complicit in assassinations for hire. His gang was contracted to assassinate one Victor Golor, and in two attempts on December 12, 2023, and January 6, 2024, they failed to exterminate the target. However, on the 6th of March 2024, they succeeded in detonating explosives at the target’s hotel after installing a digital Apple tracker in his Toyota Hilux truck. Such was his sophistication that he had a network of informants at his beck and call and used tracking devices to tail potential victims.”
The CP listed items recovered from the suspects to include one AK 47 rifle, one pump action rifle, different sets of military camouflage and uniforms, as well as one operational black sports utility vehicle (SUV).
