Gloria George’s life was shattered on the night of September 10, 2024, when her 34-year-old son, Horsefall Rowland, failed to return home. Earlier that day, Rowland had told his mother he was heading to a meeting at Peter Odili Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but as the hours passed without word from him, Gloria’s anxiety grew.
By 10 pm that night, she had spoken to Rowland, who reassured her he was on his way home. However, when she tried to reach him again later, there was no response. Her worst fears were confirmed early the next morning when Rowland called her at 5 am, frantic with fear. He explained that he had been kidnapped.
As the family desperately scrambled to raise the ransom, they began receiving threatening voice notes and photos from the kidnappers, warning them that Rowland would be killed if the money was not paid. In a last-ditch effort, they sent N30,000, hoping it would save their son’s life. Tragically, it was too late. Rowland’s body was later discovered along Queens/Kings Bakery, Abuloma Road, in Port Harcourt.
In a devastating statement to the police on November 1, 2024, Gloria shared the harrowing details of her son’s captivity. She revealed that the kidnappers initially demanded N2.5 million, though they eventually settled for N300,000. The money was transferred into Rowland’s account, but after that, there was no further contact.
“They sent two threatening voice notes and pictures to Rowland’s girlfriend, saying that if they didn’t receive the N300,000 within the shortest time, we should consider Roland dead,” Gloria said. Unfortunately, that was the last time the family heard from him.
After receiving the family’s complaint, the Rivers State Police Command swiftly launched an investigation, arresting five suspects involved in the crime: Endurance Thompson (23), Boma Otonye (41), David Ishaku (34), Moses Benjamin (29), and Emmanuel (32).
The prime suspect, Thompson, was arrested in his hideout in Woji, Rivers State. He confessed to the crime, revealing that Rowland had been beaten to death after attempting to pay for hard drugs with a fake bank transfer alert.
Thompson explained that Rowland had come to buy “Charlie” (a street name for cocaine) from him on September 11, 2024, around 3 am, behind the Port Harcourt Zoo, Trans Amadi. According to Thompson, Rowland had made a series of fake transfer attempts to pay for the drugs. “I received an alert, but the amount in my account remained unchanged. He owed me N150,000 and claimed to have transferred N8,000 first and N20,000. But the money never actually entered my account,” Thompson said.
An argument broke out over the fake transfer, and Rowland was subsequently beaten. He later begged Thompson to take him to the hospital for treatment. Thompson called a friend, Justice, but by the time they arrived, Rowland had died inside the Keke Marwa that had rushed him to Justice’s place. Thompson informed Justice of the death, and together with another accomplice, Michael, they disposed of Rowland’s body, dumping it beside a bakery on Abuloma Road.
SP Grace Iringe-Koko, spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, confirmed that Rowland’s body had been deposited in the morgue for preservation. She also stated that the investigation is ongoing, with efforts to apprehend other individuals mentioned by the suspects, who were allegedly involved in the beating that led to Rowland’s tragic death.