Sports

Police nab serial rapist who lures victims through dating app

Published

2 months ago

September 22, 2024

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They all woke up noticing their valuables were missing, and money withdrawn from their bank accounts.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.

Sports

Premier League official Coote suspended

Published

23 hours ago

November 12, 2024

Austin Ojomah

Premier League official David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect by PGMOL

A video, which remains unverified, appearing to show Coote making derogatory comments about Liverpool and their former manager Jurgen Klopp was widely circulated on social media on Monday.

• David Coote first refereed a game in the Premier League in April 2018
• Coote was born in Nottinghamshire and previously officiated in the Football League.
• Coote is registered as a Notts County fan with PGMOL
• He refereed the Carabao Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle in 2023

A PGMOL statement read: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation.

“PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”
Coote was the referee for Liverpool’s win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday night.

According to Sky Sports, Liverpool have declined to comment.
Head of referees Howard Webb will be appearing on Match Officials: Mic’d Up on Tuesday night on Sky Sportskeeda
A video being shared appears to refer to the Premier League match between Liverpool – who were already crowned champions – and Burnley, which Coote refereed, in July 2020.
The game finished 1-1 after Jay Rodriguez’s strike cancelled out Andy Robertson’s opener, ending Liverpool’s 24-match winning run at Anfield.

At full-time, Klopp appeared to argue with Coote and his officials on the pitch, and after the match, the former Reds boss said the referee failed to give fouls for challenges made on Liverpool’s players.

“David Coote appears to be speaking directly to a camera phone and appears to go on to make a number of derogatory comments about Liverpool Football Club and their former manager Jurgen Klopp.

“We don’t know if this video is genuine or not at this stage, and neither do PGMOL.

“We need to point out that there is no indication at all as to how old this video is, but it is clearly not recent. In the video, Coote talks about lockdown and being socially distant. He shows the guy interviewing him a picture on his phone where he is wearing a mask. He talks about Klopp and James Milner, who hasn’t played for Liverpool for more than 18 months.

“Coote is an elite Premier League referee. He is part of the elite group of match officials, where he has been since 2018. He had eight years as an EFL referee before that. He is one of the most experienced and highly-thought-of referees in this country, and with that position comes an awful lot of responsibility, in terms of impartiality in particular.

“So any suggestion that Coote or any other elite match official might have bias against a particular Premier League club, or bad feeling towards them or their manager, is a very serious allegation.

“But while I think we need to stress there is history between Klopp and Coote, the latter hasn’t had the chance to explain himself, either to us or indeed the PGMOL, who are his employers.
“This has moved very quickly. It’s a huge story and potentially one that is very damaging, not just for Coote but the PGMOL as well.”

Sports

Man Utd confirms Van Nistelrooy’s exit as Amorim arrives in UK

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Manchester United have confirmed the departure of club legend, Ruud van Nistelrooy as assistant manager at the club.

Van Nistelrooy was appointed on an interim basis as head coach after Erik ten Hag was sacked by the Premier League club last month but Rubem Amorim signed as the new head coach from Sporting Lisbon will be coming with his own assistants hence no need of Van Nistelrooy who led the team to 3 wins and one draw as interim manager..

Van Nistelrooy oversaw four games as interim boss, in which United went unbeaten. He took charge of wins over Leicester in the Carabao Cup and Premier League as well as a UEFA Europa League victory against PAOK and a league draw with Chelsea.

Coaches Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar and Pieter Morel have also left United.

The Red Devils released a statement on Monday, November 11 following the arrival of Ruben Amorim in the UK on Monday.

It read: “Manchester United can confirm that Ruud van Nistelrooy has left the club. Ruud rejoined in the summer and has taken charge of the team for the past four matches as interim head coach.

“Ruud is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend,” a club statement read. “We are grateful for his contribution and the way in which he has approached his role throughout his time with the club. He will always be very welcome at Old Trafford.

“Rene Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar and Pieter Morel have also departed and we wish them all well for the future.
“We will confirm the full men’s first team coaching composition in due course.”

Sports

Premier League referee suspended over video rant

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Premier League referee David Coote was Monday suspended after a video was posted on social media appearing to show him making derogatory remarks about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

It is unclear when the video was made or how it came into circulation but, according to the clip, Coote said Klopp was “arrogant” and used offensive language.

Coote, 42, refereed Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said in a statement: “David Coote has been suspended with immediate effect pending a full investigation. PGMOL will be making no further comment until that process is complete.”

AFP