The intent of a young lady, Blessing, to celebrate her friend, Rita Special Eleonu, on her birthday, turned calamitous for the celebrant as it led to the brutal end of her life, not by someone distant, but Blessing’s brother, Goodnews.

Not only did Goodnews allegedly sell Rita, a 25-year-old, to a gang of murderers and witness her killing and dismembering, he also took his sister’s friend’s phone and sold it for N150,000. In order not to raise suspicion about his involvement in the disappearance of Rita, Goodnews also offered N50,000 as his contribution to the ransom demanded by the “kidnappers,” but went behind his sister to collect his money back from his gang members.

The incredible but true and sad story was disclosed after the arrest of Goodnews by Rivers State Police Command on January 8.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, who narrated the story on a Facebook page, confirmed that Goodnews, aged 26 and native of Rumuakunde Community in Emuoha Local Government Area, was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Rita, from Rundele Community in Obio Akpor LGA.

Saturday Tribune learnt that on December 13, 2025, the suspect and his accomplices, currently at large, allegedly lured Rita to Rumuakunde in Emuoha LGA, from where she was abducted and later taken to a forest on the East/West Road in Emuoha.

After making Rita’s family to pay N210,000 as ransom, the suspects murdered her, severed her breasts and other private parts and then abandoned her remains in the bush.

CSP Iringe-Koko disclosed that a report was lodged on December 29, 2025, by the victim’s brother (name withheld). The Command’s operatives attached to the Anti-Cultism Unit (ACU) Emuoha annex arrested Iberi on January 8, 2026, at about 6:30 a.m. in his hideout.

“During preliminary investigation, the suspect voluntarily confessed to the crime, highlighting his role and further incriminating four other accomplices,” she stated, adding that Goodnews led police operatives to the forest, from where the victim’s decomposing remains were recovered.

The remains, she said, had been deposited at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) morgue for autopsy. She added that the suspect is in police custody while investigation has been launched, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members of the syndicate.

The suspect’s sister, Blessing, who seemed to be in shock that his brother could engage in such an act, narrated how her friend became the killers’ target: “Rita’s birthday was on November 27, 2025, so I posted her photo on my WhatsApp status. My brother, Goodnews, saw her photo and said he liked her, asking me to give him her contact. I said I couldn’t give him without informing Rita.

“I reached out to Rita and told her. She asked me where he came from, and I told her he’s my brother. Before then, Goodnews said I should ask Rita the amount she would take to spend a night with him and Rita said I should ask him for N200,000. I told her that since she said I should give Goodnews her number, both of them could talk. She said she wanted to see the guy but was travelling, promising to do so on her return.

“On December 13, Rita called me on WhatsApp, saying that she was at Choba junction going to see Goodnews. I told her that he didn’t tell me she was coming to him, I asked her to allow me call him to confirm. I called my brother and he said he would go there to pick her.

“Later that same night, I called Goodnews to know if he saw Rita but he didn’t pick my calls. I called Rita to ask if he came to pick her, but she also was not picking my calls. Later, Goodnews called me and said, ‘I don give your friend the money o and I no see your friend again. You and your friend planned to chop my money.’ I thought: how could my friend and I plan such a thing? That night, I began to call Rita’s number, but the calls went unanswered. I sent messages but they would only be viewed and not responded to.

“At 10 p.m., I got a message from Rita’s phone in which she said she was with my brother’s money but got another catch whose money was much more than the one paid by Goodnews. She said that I should not be angry, that she would go and see him the following day.

“I sent back a message and said: ‘Rita, I know you are not the one typing this’ because she didn’t know how to type. I sent her my account number, asking her to send the money paid her by Goodnews because he was accusing me of conniving with her to take the money from him. She viewed my message but didn’t reply.

“The following day, Goodnews called me and said I should take him to Rita’s house for him to take back his money. I told him that I didn’t know her house but would call someone who knew the place. I called the person and explained everything, but she said she could not take me there. I asked her rhetorically how I would pay the money I knew nothing about. Later that day, the lady called me back and said that they were looking for Rita. I began calling Rita’s number but it was not going through.

“On December 15, different phone numbers began to call me, and the callers were threatening to kill me if Rita was not found. I began to call Rita’s number again but still not going through. I called Goodnews and asked him about Rita. He started abusing me, saying that I had no sense, and that he didn’t know anything about Rita’s whereabouts as he didn’t see her. I was so worried. Later, one Chioma called me that she was in my house with Rita’s brothers. I was not around then so I told them to meet me at Choba junction.

“I called them when I got there, then my cousin came to tell me that they were coming with the police to arrest me. She said that we should go to our village and report the matter to the youth chairman. When I got there, the chairman demanded N5,000 for ‘drink’ before he would listen to me, and I paid. After telling him everything, he asked me to leave, that he would let me know how things would go.

I resumed calling Rita’s number but still was not going through. On Wednesday, December 17, Rita’s people came to Emuoha and asked me to meet them there. I did, and together with our youth chairman, they asked me to explain what I knew and I did. But Goodnews was not present. Rita’s family asked the youth chairman to go back home and interview him. I followed him home and he began to question Goodnews who still denied knowledge of anything about Rita’s whereabouts.

“After that, those who claimed to have Rita in their custody called me with her line. They would just ‘flash’ me and I would call them back. I was recording everything. The first question they asked me was if I was the one that would pay N1million as ransom. I told them I would pay but asked them to let me hear Rita’s voice. They ended the call. Later, they ‘flashed’ me again. I called back and said I wanted to talk to Rita. They gave the phone to a girl and I heard a voice saying ‘Blessing, help me,’ which was not Rita’s voice. When I called ‘Rita,’ they collected the phone from the girl speaking and told me ‘Send money.’ They ended the call. I told Rita’s sister and she said that the family had sent money twice – N200,000 and N150,000 respectively – through Rita’s account.”

When asked whether she told their family members that her brother, Goodnews, was part of all the happenings, Blessing replied that she didn’t, saying that she was scared, coupled with the fact that their mother was sick. “But when I asked him about the matter, he told me that his people were aware of it. That was why I reported him to our youth chairman so that he would question him very well,” Blessing said.

In his confession, Goodnews opened up on how he got involved in Rita’s abduction and murder: “My role was to lure a girl to be used for ritual purposes. On November 27, my sister, Blessing, posted the picture of her friend, Rita, on her WhatsApp status. I told her I liked the girl but she said I could not afford her. I told her to ask Rita, and Rita demanded N200,000 per night. I told her I could not pay so much, and we negotiated it to N80,000. But she didn’t come that night.

“On December 17, Rita came. We met at Choba. I called my boss, Sir White, to tell him that the girl had come, so he came to Choba that night and picked the lady to Emuoha. We were in the bush with Ewo. When Sir White came with Rita to the bush, he and Ewo killed her. Sir White, a Yahoo boy, cut her vital organs.

“They returned in the morning and I told them to let us bury her remains, but Ewo refused and said that the Chief Priest was working with him and had told them not to bury her. He told me that he and Chief Priest had done it before. I returned home and my sister came, asking me about Rita’s whereabouts. I was the one who took Rita’s phone and sold it for N150,000 at Choba.

“My sister kept pestering me, saying that the people who held Rita asked her to send 100,000. She sent N50,000 and I added N50,000 to the money. Meanwhile, Ewo had Rita’s sim card. They refunded the N50,000 I paid to me.

“On December 27, Blessing invited me to youth chairman’s place. There, I saw a woman and two men and told my sister to let us leave the place as it seemed Rita’s family would come with police. My sister told me policemen were not coming. After waiting for a while, I started making calls. As I moved to a distance, I saw police vehicle and went to my house. They later came to my house on December 30, 2025, but did not meet me at home. I was arrested January, 2026

“They took me to the station for interrogation. Later, I took them to where the corpse of the lady was.”

Saying that he was feeling bad, the murder suspect advised other youths to stay away from crime.

When contacted by Saturday Tribune, the PPRO enjoined youths to be wary of people they meet or associate with, especially through the social media. She also advised them to engage in meaningful skills to avoid untimely death, adding that they should always be security-conscious.

Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, who commended the diligence and swift action of the operatives in apprehending the suspect, encouraged the public to maintain trust in police operations and to support the Command with intelligence that can enhance prompt response and strengthen collective fight against crime. (Saturday Tribune)