The Enugu State Police Command has addressed a viral video that aroused concerns about organ harvesting at a hotel in the state.
The video, which appeared on X.com on Sunday, shows two ladies being rescued from a hotel room, reportedly to prevent their organs from being stolen.
One of the women in the video said that the men were carrying firearms.
It was also reported that she was rescued after attempting to leap out the window after the suspects had left the hotel room.
However, in a news statement posted on X.com on Monday, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, denied the allegations.
Ndukwe added that preliminary investigations revealed the situation to be one of extortion and fraud, rather than attempted murder or organ harvesting.
The statement read, “The Enugu State Police Command has intercepted a viral video showing two ladies alleged to have been rescued from a hotel room in Enugu, where they were tied up in an attempt to harvest their organs by two young men.
“The Command, therefore, wishes to state that, contrary to the misleading narrative on the incident, preliminary investigation revealed a case of demanding money with menaces and fraud, and not murder or human organs or parts harvesting as being peddled.”
It went on to say that the women, who claimed to be commercial sex workers, met the suspects on July 3rd at a hotel on Agbani Road in Enugu.
They went back to the same hotel the next day, where the guys allegedly intimidated, battered, and tied them up.
The statement added, “At the hotel, the suspects beat and tied up the girls in the hotel’s room toilet after menacingly demanding and obtaining their phones and account details, including their Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).
“They surreptitiously found their way out of the hotel before the victims were rescued, as seen in the video.
“They further fraudulently withdrew a cumulative sum of one hundred and twenty thousand (₦120,000.00) from the victims’ accounts.”
The police stated that a bag containing two kitchen knives and apparel that the suspects left behind had been discovered, and an investigation is underway to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
In light of this event, the police have recommended hotel owners and managers practice the highest levels of security attentiveness and ensure that lodgers are adequately checked and verifiable information collected before being accommodated.
Young women were also advised by the police not to go out with strangers, especially males, under any pretence in order to avoid falling victim to similar criminals and their actions.
