A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Rivers State has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the state Police Command to arrest the escapee rapist and ritualist, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Maxwell Dike and all police officers who allegedly aided his escape.
The group, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, yesterday, also called for a full-scale police protection for the victim’s family and witnesses.
The text for the briefing, which was read by the state Chairperson, Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA), Mrs. Anthonia Osademe called for the direct involvement of the Inspector General of Police (IG) in the matter.
The coalition regretted that two weeks after the incident, the whereabouts of the principal culprit, Ifeanyi Dike is yet unknown.
“This is more than two weeks after the untimely death of Miss Chikamso Victory and the culprit is still out there without any trace.
“We demand that more proactive measures should be adopted for the search of Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Maxwell Dike to ensure that late Miss Chikamso Victory and other unknown victims of the ritualist get justice.
“We demand an immediate re-arrest of the said Ifeanyi Dike and apprehension of every other police officer involved in this act within seven days.
“We demand quick action by the police authorities to redress the awkward attitude of some police officers in Rivers State who dump national interest for their selfish interest in such unprofessional manner”, it said.
It also called on the police commissioner to create functional and specialised children police protection in all the Divisional Police Stations in the state.
Meanwhile, the mother of late Miss Chikamso Victory Ernest Mezuwubu has accused the police of shielding officers involved in the escape of Ifeanyichukwu Dike.
Mezuwubu told The Tide in an interview that the family was not satisfied with the way and manner the police were handling the matter.
In a related development, the management of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) has confirmed that the principal suspect, Ifeanyichukwu Dike, who escaped police custody recently, is actually a student of the university.
The university had earlier said that it would verify the status of the alleged rapist, who allegedly killed his niece, an eight-year old girl for ritual purposes.
A statement signed by the Deputy Registrar of UNIPORT, Dr. Williams Wodi, last Wednesday, said the suspected ritualist, Ifeanyichukwu Dike enrolled into the Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences in the 2015/2016 academic session after meeting the statutory requirements for admission into the university.
Wodi also appealed to the public and the social media to desist from denigrating UNIPORT following the murder incident, adding that the school authorities were working with the security agencies to ensure the re-arrest of the suspected ritualist.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana