Sports
Police nab serial rapist who lures victims through dating app
A father of four girls who allegedly lures young women through online dating sites to hotels where he sexually abuses them has been arrested by the Rivers State Police Command.
The suspect, Belema Ibama, 38, an ex-pupil of Seashell Model Primary School and native of Buguma, was alleged to have registered into the sites as Mr. Anderson, a British engineer working in an offshore oil rig.
The Nation gathered that he lures his victims with relationship promise only to drug, rape and steal from them.
He was arrested after more than 20 of his victims across Rivers State filed different reports at the police station about a certain Mr/Engineer Anderson who allegedly raped them after inviting them over for a date.
Police investigation, it was gathered, revealed that the suspect had been in the business of drugging, raping and robbing women since 2019 and was even remanded in prison as an awaiting trial inmate for six months in 2021 only to be discharged as the case against him was quashed due to absence of witnesses.
It was gathered that the suspect was also arrested by the Delta State Police Command in 2020 for allegedly raping a woman through the same tactic.However, he jumped bail and fled to Port Harcourt, abandoning his Lexus SUV in Delta State.
After his return from prison in 2022, he went into a hiatus but resumed his life of crime in November 2023. From that time till his arrest on May 5, he had lured, drugged, raped and robbed more than 20 women, it was learnt.
Detectives who investigated the case told our correspondent that his victims recounted that once they arrived at the agreed location and had exchanged pleasantries, he would offer them a drink, and moments after drinking it, they would pass out.
They all woke up noticing their valuables were missing, and money withdrawn from their bank accounts.
One of the complainants narrated how she met him on Tinder, an online site on January 7, and they met for the first time on January 13 at Pacific Suites, a hotel along Abuloma Road.
She described how he offered her a drink that made her fuzzy after a few minutes of drinking it. She fell asleep and awoke to find that her iPhone valued at N180,000, her handbag containing N28,000, her ATM, and her ID card were all missing.
She proceeded to report the matter to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Rivers State Command and a hunt for the suspect began. He was eventually arrested at 56 Okilton Road, Ada George, in May.
The suspect was found with pills suspected to be Tramadol and Rohypnol, 15 mobile phones, four female watches and two female handbags at the point of arrest.
He confessed to the police that he primarily operated on Bumble and Tinder apps with the usernames Engineer Val Anderson, Mr Anderson or Val.
He also revealed how he obtained the ATM pins of victims through a trickery he had perfected: he would order a drink or food while they were in the hotel and transfer money to the victims, asking them to pay using their ATM cards. As they punched in their pins on the POS machines, he would peek and memorise them.
He would then spike their drinks, and when they were unconscious, he would have carnal knowledge of them before robbing them of their phones, ATM cards and other valuables.
His next stop would be at an ATM where he would withdraw from their accounts, using the pin he had memorised.
He also confessed that he usually sold the stolen items on mobile stores.
Contacted for reaction, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, said the suspect also took his victims to other hotels in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
He advised residents seeking relationships through dating apps to be cautious and avoid meeting strangers in places they don’t have control over certain situations.
The CP also admonished residents to be mindful of drinks and other edible things offered to them by strangers as people with criminal intentions would have laced them with drugs.
He warned all those involved in such heinous crimes to desist or they would face the wrath of the law, adding that there is no hiding place for criminals anywhere in the state.
Chelsea have sacked Liam Rosenior as manager after just 107 days in charge, as a result of a poor run of performance that saw the club suffer five consecutive Premier League defeats without scoring.
The club confirmed the decision in a statement on Wednesday, saying it was not taken lightly but was necessary due to “recent results and performances” falling “below the necessary standards”.
“Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with Head Coach Liam Rosenior.
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, we would like to place on record our gratitude to Liam and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club.
“Liam has always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism following his appointment midway through the season,” the statement read.
Chelsea added that the former Strasbourg manager leaves with the club still competing in the FA Cup and chasing European qualification.
“Liam has always conducted himself with the highest integrity and professionalism following his appointment midway through the season,” the statement read.
Chelsea added that the former Strasbourg manager leaves with the club still competing in the FA Cup and chasing European qualification.
“Everyone at Chelsea FC wishes Liam every success in the future,” the statement added.
Rosenior, who was appointed in January on a six-year contract to replace Enzo Maresca, departs with Chelsea seventh in the Premier League and seven points off the Champions League places.
Meanwhile, Calum McFarlane will now take charge of the team as interim head coach until the end of the season, beginning with Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds at Wembley, with support from existing backroom staff.
“As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea said.
Rosenior’s exit comes after a run that included defeats to Newcastle, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Brighton, with Chelsea failing to score in all five games.
Manchester City defeated Burnley 1-0 in the English Premier League (EPL) encounter at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.
Manchester City took control of the EPL title race thanks to Erling Haaland’s early goal against the Clarets, who are relegated to the English Championship with the defeat.
Manchester City took the lead in five minutes when Haaland darted through Burnley’s defence to meet Jeremy Doku’s through ball and expertly chipped the goalkeeper for his 24th league goal of the season.
The Norwegian striker also went close later but was denied by the post, and City went into the break with only a one-goal lead.
Burnley improved in the second half with Lyle Foster’s deflected strike inches wide of the post, before Quilindschy Hartman tested Gianluigi Donnarumma with a powerful effort.
The visitors, however, weathered the storm and regained control, but efforts from Doku, Haaland, Rayan Cherki, and Nico O’Rilley all went close but were all denied.
They, however, held on to take all three points and stretch their unbeaten run to 11 matches, while Burnley are winless in nine games.
Pep Guardiola’s side return to the top of the table for the first time since the first week of the season, ending Arsenal’s 200 days at the top.
Both teams are on the same 70 points and the same goal difference, but City has scored more goals to claim the top spot.
Burnley, however, return to the Championship after only one season in the top flight, and are the second team after Wolverhampton Wanderers to confirm their relegation status.
Former Premier League champions Leicester were relegated to the third tier for only the second time in their history after a 2-2 draw against Hull on Tuesday.
Gary Rowett’s side needed a victory at the King Power Stadium to keep alive their slender hopes of avoiding relegation.
But the Foxes were denied by Oli McBurnie’s second-half equaliser, which condemned them to League One just 10 years after they were crowned English champions in a fairytale triumph.
Liam Millar put Hull ahead in the 18th minute before Leicester equalised through James Justin’s 52nd-minute penalty.
Luke Thomas put Leicester ahead two minutes later, but McBurnie extinguished their dreams of a great escape with his 63rd-minute leveller.
Second-bottom Leicester are seven points from safety with just two games left.
Leicester will play in the third tier for the first time since 2008-09 following an astonishing decline over the last five years.
“We have to learn. I think the club have to accept this is the horrible part of the journey of a football club,” Rowett said.
“This club won the Premier League not too many moons ago. That was an incredible high at the time for the fans, for everyone associated with the club.
“I think everyone saw that as an amazing achievement. I think we can be equally as disappointed with how poor this moment is.”
It is a third relegation in four seasons for Leicester, who dropped out of the Premier League in 2023 and 2025.
After Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and company defied 5,000-1 odds by winning the Premier League in 2016, Leicester reached the Champions League quarter-finals the next season and won the FA Cup in 2021.
But Leicester’s golden era is a distant memory as they face the unpalatable prospect of playing the likes of Bromley, Mansfield and Wycombe next season.
“The bigger picture is you don’t get relegated over three or four games, you get relegated over a season,” Rowett said.
“The club has to rise again but it has to learn its lessons because it’s certainly been a season of an awful lot of regret.”
Crashing out of the Premier League in limp fashion three years ago should have been a wake-up call for Leicester’s Thai owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and much-maligned sporting director Jon Rudkin.
But Leicester’s hierarchy were painfully slow to address numerous flaws on the pitch, while the club’s ruinous finances have cost them with a six-point deduction this season for breaching spending rules.
Vardy’s departure at the end of last season severed the last tie with the title-winning squad.
Marti Cifuentes, hired to lead a promotion push, struggled to rebuild an unbalanced and inexperienced squad before his sacking in January.
Interim boss Andy King was unable to turn the tide and relegation fears began to mount after Leicester blew a 3-0 half-time lead in a dismal 4-3 defeat against Southampton.
By the time Rowett was hired in February, the Foxes were two points from safety and the former Leicester defender has mustered only one win from his 12 matches since.
Boardroom blunders have been the defining influence on Leicester’s plummet towards League One.
Claudio Ranieri, architect of their title-winning campaign, was sacked just months after lifting the trophy, with Craig Shakespeare and then Claude Puel proving inadequate replacements.
Brendan Rodgers, who masterminded the club’s FA Cup triumph and two fifth-placed finishes in the Premier League, was dismissed as relegation beckoned in 2023.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Coventry clinched the Championship title with a 5-1 rout of Portsmouth.
Frank Lampard’s side had sealed promotion back to the top flight after a 25-year absence with a draw at Blackburn on Friday.
Millwall climbed to second place with a 3-1 win at Stoke, while fourth-placed Southampton’s bid for automatic promotion was dented by a 2-2 draw against Bristol City.
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