Police to arraign failed Rivers bomber

The police in Rivers State, South-south Nigeria, have identified the suspect who detonated a dynamite near the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, two months ago.

The police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday.

Mrs Iringe-Koko, a superintendent of police, identified the suspect as Preye Josiah, alias Metusah, 40. He hails from Kabiama Community of Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Background

The suspect sustained life-threatening injuries after he allegedly detonated a dynamite near the Hotel Presidential on 25 June during a protest march in solidarity with former Governor Nyesom Wike, now FCT minister, who has been in a protracted political battle against his successor, Siminalayi Fubara, over the control of political structure in the state.

The protest followed Mr Fubara’s dissolution of Wike-backed elected local government officials following the expiration of their three-year tenure and replacing them with a caretaker committee.

Mr Josiah’s condition was unknown after the incident, but hours later, the commissioner for health in the state said he was “stable” and receiving treatment at a hospital in the state.

In a statement on Sunday, the police said, “Mr Josiah has undergone three major surgeries and has made a significant recovery and will soon be charged to a court of competent jurisdiction after the investigations are completed.”

The suspect, the police said, has been evading arrest for over a decade over his alleged participation in high-profile bank robberies led by Daniel Gogo between 2012 and 2016 where weapons including “three AK-47 rifles, a Lar rifle, 360 rounds of live ammunition, 20 magazines, five dynamites, two pistols, a rifle servicing equipment, and three exotic cars were recovered in Bayelsa State by operatives of the then IGP-IRT.”

Mr Josiah, a member of the dreaded cult group Vikings Confraternity, is a dynamite detonating expert for the group, the police said.