By Patricia Uyeh

News report reveal that a  dispatch rider with an online marketing store, Jumia identified as Mr. Chukwuma Elements has been killed in a house on Ada George Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The deceased was said to be delivering two iPhones to some customers, who had ordered for them through the Internet on Saturday, when he was attacked and killed.

The assailants were reported to have dumped his remains in a septic tank in a bid to cover up their hideous crime.

However, operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad were said to have been alerted by residents. The police force were reported to have nabbed the suspects in their apartment on Monday.

The state police spokesperson, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the incident, said the suspects – Sodienye Mbatumukeke, Excel Naabe, and Joy Eluwa – upon their arrest, confessed to the crime.

Eluwa was said to be Mbatumukeke’s girlfriend.

He said, “Operatives of SARS, acting on credible intelligence on Monday, at about 3am arrested three suspects– two males and a female– identified as Sodienye Mbatumukeke, Excel Divine Naabe, and Joy Eluwa.

“These armed robbers ordered smartphones from a certain courier company in Rivers State. Then the company sent the phones through a dispatch rider. On getting there, the hoodlums beat up the dispatch rider and later shot him; he died inside their flat.

After killing him, they threw his corpse into a septic tank. Our men, who were acting on credible intelligence, arrested the suspects and they showed us where they hid the corpse.”

Omoni added that the State Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed, who led other senior police officers to the scene, appealed to members of the public to always share information with the police. The two prime suspects, however, passed the bulk to each other.

A press statement signed by Juliet Anammah, CEO Jumia Nigeria has been released;

It is with saddened hearts that we announce the ongoing police investigation on the disappearance of a delivery associate of one of our partners which has been possibly linked to the recovery of a deceased body by police investigators.

The associate was employed by our third-party logistics partner in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Jumia Nigeria’s regional management is working full time with the partner, the local police and the family of the associate to investigate the case.

While the full facts are yet to be known, the delivery associate was reported to have been last seen on Saturday during his delivery runs. We thus await the results of police investigation on the matter.

While we continue to hope for the best possible outcome, we ask that the general public joins us in upholding the family and the logistics partner with prayers and support during this sensitive and difficult time.

Delivery associates and logistic partners are an integral part of our ecommerce business. They are a hardworking force of dedicated men and women who go through rain, sun and tough terrain to deliver to our customers’ expectations. We condemn and stand against all forms of verbal or physical assault against them and regard security on the job of the utmost importance.

We acknowledge and appreciate the public support that has been shown to the family, our partner and Jumia. We ask that continued support and prayers be offered on behalf of the associate’s family during the ongoing investigation, even as we also respect their privacy at this time.