Police speak on reported attempt to harvest organs of two women

The police in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria, have spoken on the reported attempt by some unidentified men to harvest organs of two women in a hotel (name withheld) in the state.

How it happened

A video clip had surfaced online recently showing two women tied in a hotel room in the state.

The suspects allegedly tied the women in the hotel room on Wednesday.

The women, said to have been rescued on Friday, were heard in the clip claiming that the suspects were armed traffickers who tied them in the hotel room to harvest their organs.

They claimed they were only rescued after the suspects allegedly collected their bank ATM cards and left to withdraw money from their accounts and also finalise an agreement with the buyer of the organs.

According to them, the suspects also stole their mobile phones and other valuables before leaving with plans to return to the hotel to harvest their organs.

The women displayed some items allegedly brought by the suspects to carry out the organ harvesting.

Some of the items were a cooler, bowls, kitchen knives, and a cutlass.

Police speak

But in a statement on Sunday night, the police spokesperson in Enugu State, Daniel Ndukwe, refuted the claims.

Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said a preliminary investigation has shown that the suspects forcefully and fraudulently demanded money from the victims and that it was not a case of attempted murder or harvest of organs.

The spokesperson said the investigation also showed that the victims were commercial sex workers who had sex with the suspects earlier on Wednesday in another hotel along Agbani Road in the state.

He said the victims had another appointment the following day in the hotel where the suspects met them.

“At the hotel, the suspects beat and tied up the girls in the hotel’s room toilet after menacingly demanding and obtaining their phones and account details, including their personal identification numbers,” Mr Ndukwe said.

“They (the suspects) surreptitiously found their way out of the hotel before the victims were rescued, as seen in the video.

“They further fraudulently withdrew a cumulative sum of N120,000.00 from the victims’ accounts,” the police spokesperson added.

He said a bag containing two kitchen knives and sportswear, which the suspects reportedly left behind, had been recovered.

Mr Ndukwe said the police had begun an “intelligence-guided investigation” to track the fleeing suspects.

The spokesperson advised owners and managers of hotels to be security conscious and ensure that lodgers are properly screened and their verifiable details obtained before being accommodated.

He equally cautioned women against hanging out with unknown persons, especially women, to avoid falling prey to similar criminals and their activities.