Following the serial killings of young women in yet to be identified hotels in Port Harcourt, reactions have continued to trail the trend with calls on the authorities by concerned persons to protect the womenfolk from further danger to their lives.
In their separate reactions, the aggrieved persons, mainly women condemned some hoteliers in the state, while alleging that some of them helped killers to escape after using their facilities to perpetrate murder. According to Armanda Jonas, the coordination of women for Positive Development, the society should protect young women “because they are the mothers we are seeing among us.” She called for intensification of necessary security checks in hotels in Port Harcourt and blamed the society for calling young women prostitutes instead of doing everything possible to safe the mothers of tomorrow.
She equally called for deployment of technology such as installation of the CCTV cameras and the need to re- register and profile hotels in the state in order to enhance safety of lodgers and guests. She warned young ladies to be wary of men they could not vouch for and shun materialism which she referred to as the bait that made them vulnerable. “Going by the persistent incident of murder of young ladies in hotels, I see the handiwork of a team of serial killers. Hoteliers, and staff members can give them up for arrest, this is a serious matter that needs urgent attention. The situation portends bad image for the city despite all that government is doing to restore order” she remarked.
In his own reaction, John Adokiye, a student at Captain Elechi Amaechi Polytechnic, stated that the incident “was a reflection that there are many sub-standard hotels in the state.” He called for government clampdown and proper regulation of the hotel business especially in Port Harcourt. He said that after identifying the hotels who habour criminals, the next line of action for the government is to blacklist them and get them out of business.
It would be recalled that during his reaction over the development, Chairman Rivers State Hotels Association, Mr. Eugene Nwaosi had called for a synergy between hotels and security agencies as well as improvement on the check in and out of guests.
There have been incessant killings of young ladies in hotels in the state in the past few moths, the latest of which was the one recorded at a hotel in Rumuola, making sum total of those murdered about 10 in number.
