The State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu disclosed this during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Port Harcourt on Thursday, September 12, 2024.
The CP stated that the suspects are members of a gang led by a notorious cultist, Daddy Chukwu, who was traced to his hideout in Delta State early this year and k!lled after the m8rder of Livingstone.
According to the CP, five more members of Daddy Chukwu’s gang were also arrested during the operation at one of their camps in Aluu village.
“Recall the assassination of the then Community Development Council (CDC) Chairman of Mgbuoshimini, Chief Ndidi Livingstone on 13th January 2024 in front of his church, the Peculiar Faith Ministries, Rumueme,” the CP stated.
“In that operation, four men stormed the church, dragged the victim out and murdered him, shooting him four times with AK-47 rifles, in the presence of his wife, son and congregants of the church.
“The cold-blooded murder which was carried out in broad daylight was captured in a viral video that sparked outrage. I directed a team of Operatives of the FID-Intelligence Response Team and the Rivers State Command on a nationwide manhunt for the killers.
“The special team identified the four men in the video including the mastermind of the assassination, Peter Daddy Chukwu who was hunted down to a hideout in Ibusa, Delta State on April 5, 2024. His attempt to resist arrest led to his death.
“In the succeeding press briefing after the death of Daddy Chukwu, I gave assurances that every member of the gang would be apprehended. The unrelenting manhunt for the perpetrators seen shooting and murdering the deceased in the viral video has now led to the arrest of the three other persons directly responsible for the assassination and six more persons belonging to their criminal network. These are the suspects’ profiles.
1. NNAMDI EMMANUEL ALIAS BYC ‘m’ 35 years from Onicha LGA, Ebonyi State. He spent Seven (7) years in Port Harcourt Maximum Prison for burglary and was released in May 2023. Immediately after his release, he ventured into kidnapping in Abia State after which he joined a more sophisticated kidnapping gang operating in Anambra and Rivers State. He was assigned the role of hostage keeper for the gang, participating in two separate kidnappings but grew dissatisfied with his role and cut from the deals. He provoked an argument over ransom sharing with the gang leader and killed him before pushing the dead body into a nearby river.
He then stole the two AK-47 rifles belonging to the kidnap gang, escaped to Port Harcourt and joined an armed robbery gang led by one Ogolo Promise. Ogolo and his gang carried out armed robbery operations that they termed ‘bank tracing’. The operation would have them trail customers who withdrew hard currencies from banks before robbing them. He got about $2000 from the armed robberies they perpetuated. His stock in the underworld grew and he was often contracted to facilitate operations for various criminal groups. He crossed paths with and joined Daddy Chukwu from December 2023 to January 2024 to carry out two assassination operations and a hotel bombing. He shot the late Ndidi Livingstone in the foot on the day he was killed. Operatives recovered two AK-47 rifles, 141 rounds of live ammunition and 8 magazines from him.
2. JOHN LUCAS ‘m’ 34 years from Logoro LGA, Bauchi State claimed to be a dismissed Lance Corporal from the Nigeria Army for desertion in 2014. He had been to prison for drug trafficking and since his release, he has been involved in all sorts of crimes.
Daddy Chukwu recruited him in December 2023 to be a henchman with BYC and together they unleashed evil on his rivals. Lucas was seen in the viral video taking the final shot that killed Chief Livingstone.
John Lucas also operated a gang that specialised in recruiting guns for hire for his criminal activities. He was also involved in highway robbery, successfully diverting 56 Skyrun refrigerators in Akwa Ibom State. Recovered from him are IEDs, numerous Military Uniforms, five Skyrun refrigerators and the Black Highlander vehicle used on the day Chief Livingstone was murdered.
3. ADEBAYO ADEBAYO ‘m’ 48 years from Ado Ekiti LGA, Ekiti State claimed he was dismissed as a Seargent from the Nigeria Army in 2019. John Lucas recruited him to join in the assassination of Chief Livingstone. He was seen in the video wearing a special forces shirt.
After the Police declared a manhunt for him, he became a journeyman moving from one state to another seeking to evade arrest, but this did not deter the Police as he was traced to every state. Thinking that he had escaped the reach of the Police, he eventually settled down in Kwale, Delta State where he got employed as a Chief Security Officer (CSO) of a Waste Management Company. He was apprehended while on duty at his new place of work.
During the investigation, four of the suspects, John Lucas ‘m’, Nnamdi Emmanuel, m ‘, Ogolo Promise ‘m’ and Adebayo Adebayo ‘m’ led Operatives to one of their camps at Pipeline, Aluu village for the recovery of their cache of weapons.
While approaching the camp, they came under heavy gunfire by hoodlums suspected to be fellow gang members. The suspects attempted to escape in the ensuing ambush but were caught in the crossfire.
The hoodlums were eventually overpowered, and the suspects rushed to UPTH for medical attention. The Doctor confirmed them dead, and they were deposited in the UPTH morgue for autopsy. The suspects will be charged in Court as soon as investigations are concluded.
“Efforts are still in top gear to apprehend more suspects connected to Daddy Chukwu’s criminal network and possibly recover more arms & ammunition,” the CP added.
Total arm and ammunition recovered include 2 AK-47 rifles, 1 Assault rifle, 2 SMG rifles, 1 Shotgun rifle, 10 magazines, 150 rounds of live ammunition and 1 Pistol.
