The Rivers State Police Command said on Tuesday that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the killings of young women in hotel rooms in the state.

This is as the command has warned that hotels operating without closed-circuit television cameras will be shut at the expiration of a 30-day ultimatum.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura, who spoke with journalists in Port Harcourt, stated that the command had reached an agreement with hotel owners and managers some weeks ago that they must install CCTV cameras on their premises.

He warned that any hotel that failed to adhere to the directive would be shut at the expiration of the ultimatum.

Dandaura explained that eight young women had been murdered in the state by suspected ritual killers in the past two months, adding that the victims always had white clothes strapped around their necks and waists.

He expressed shock that some hotel owners and managers had yet to comply with the directive to improve security around their facilities.

On the apprehended suspects, the CP explained that while one was trailed to Kaduna State, the other was nabbed after a young woman reported to the police that a man was trying to lure her to a hotel with a promise to pay her N30,000.

Dandaura added that the suspect, who was arrested in Kaduna, would be brought to Rivers State, where he allegedly committed the crime.

He said, “So far, we have made substantial progress in the investigation of these killings. In one of the cases, the actual murder suspect has been arrested and he is making useful confessions. He would have been paraded today (Tuesday), but we are still working on some clues given by him that may aid our investigation.

“Regrettably, it has come to my notice that some hotels have yet to comply with my directive on CCTV camera, hence my order to arrest the managers, receptionists and desk officers in two hotels, where two separate murders were recorded.

“They will be investigated and if found culpable, charged with culpable homicide. Today, I want to reinforce our commitment to tackling the menace and assure you that we have come to the end of this monstrous act by desperate cultists and ritualists.”

Apart from installing CCTV cameras, Dandaura listed strict compliance with check-in and check-out procedures through the confirmation of guests’ phone numbers, identity cards and the registration of visitors by hotel managers as other measures to tackle the problem.

He said it was also compulsory for hotels to train their employees in security and safety tips and submit guests’ reports to the Police Intelligence Bureau at the end of every week.

Dandaura pleaded with hotel owners not to accept guests on short stay as against a day or more that had been the standard in many hotels, even as he cautioned young women to shun prostitution.

The Chairman of the Hotel Owners/Managers’ Association in Rivers State, Mr Eugene Nwauzi, called on hoteliers in the state to get registered with the association, adding that the need to register was part of the fight against the current menace in the state.