The University of Port Harcourt located in Choba and Aluu communities on the precincts of Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre local government areas of Rivers State is in the news again for the wrong reasons as reports indicate that internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo Boys have been unleashing mayhem in the communities, defrauding, raping and killing innocent girls and other unwary victims
By Chinedu Oguh, Port Harcourt
The University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) has in recent times remained one of the flash points of tragic cases of murdered female students by internet fraudsters popularly called ‘Yahoo Boys’. Cases of brutal attacks and killings of female students have shaken the university and the nation, a development that has drawn widespread public outrage and demands for justice.
One of the most disturbing incidents is the killing of Favour Aruwa Habibatu, a 500-level Law student of the University of Port Harcourt on June 23, 2026 by her boyfriend, Michael Ade. The sad incident happened at Ayide street in Edegbe area of the oil-rich Warri, Delta state.
Tentacle gathered Favour and Michael were clearly in a serious relationship. Both of them were always visiting each other. The source further said if Favour had known she was embarking on a journey of no return from Choba, the University town, she probably would have canceled it. Or she may have had a premonition of what awaited her at her boyfriend’s place but ignored the warning signs.
Unknown to the girlfriend, Ade is not only a yahoo big boy, but also an organ harvester who lives big with flash cars. On that fateful day, people saw her when she went to market to buy food stuffs and cook for the boy.
But something strange happened in Michael’s apartment that Tuesday night. The landlord of the compound heard the girl screaming loudly for help. He quickly contacted the community youth and also called the police. At the same time, he ran out to block Michael’s SUV with his own vehicle.
Michael later came out of his apartment insisting the landlord should move his car because he had an emergency and needed to drive out. But the landlord and the youths who had already arrived before the police, demanded that he lead them into his apartment to explain why his girlfriend was screaming. He had no choice. To their shock, they found his girlfriend lying in a pool of her blood on the floor, with her throat cut off, and knife used to slice her body like cow meat.
Again, Justina Otuene (also known as Tiffany) a 300-level of Biochemistry was murdered on October 20, 2023 and her body was dismembered by her boyfriend, Damian Okoligwe, a 400-level Petrochemical Engineering Student at University of Port Harcourt. The gruesome details emerged when neighbours alerted the estate security, who caught Okoligwe trying to dispose of her remains in a wheelbarrow.
Following an extensive trial, the Rivers State High Court found Okoligwe guilty of the crime. On November 28, 2025 the presiding judge, Justice Chinwe Nsirim-Nwosu, described the murder as “intentional, calculated and chilling coordinated” and sentenced the convict to death by hanging.
In a related development, on April 7, 2020, three 400 level undergraduates from the University of Port Harcourt, identified as Joy Adoki, Nelson Nwafor and Fortune Obomba were kidnapped from Choba. The subsequent investigation uncovered a dark story of internet fraud retaliation, betrayal and violence.
Tentacle gathered that a mastermind identified by police organised an internet fraud deal and had the illicit proceeds paid directly into a bank account belonging to one of the students when the transaction encountered issues or the funds were withheld. Bright became convinced that the students had defrauded him and kept the money for themselves.
Seeking violent retribution to recover his funds and punish the alleged betrayal, Bright contracted a local gang of cultists and kidnappers to seize the undergraduates. On April 7, 2020, the armed gang ambushed and abducted the three students. Shortly after their disappearance, the families lost all regular contact, prompting Joy Adoki’s brother to file an official missing persons report at the Eleme Police Division.
The kidnappers later established contact with the victims’ families to issue steep financial demands. While desperate family members pooled resources together and paid a ransom of ₦30 million to secure their release, the kidnappers went back on their words. Rather than releasing the students, the gang took extreme measures to eliminate all witnesses. The Anti-Cultism Unit of the Rivers State Police Command launched an intense tracking operation and busted the ring. Detectives first arrested the coordinator Bright. His interrogation led police directly to the executioners of the crime, Friday Akpan and Emmanuel, in Eteo, Eleme.
Upon his arrest, Friday Akpan confessed to the horrific timeline of events. He admitted that the gang marched the three students deep into a forest in Eleme. There, they brutally assaulted the victims, murdered all three undergraduates and buried them in a single shallow grave. On April 30, 2020, police operatives led the handcuffed suspects back into the forest to exhumation sites.
Following their dramatic arrest and the exhumation of the students’ bodies in the Eteo Forest, the suspects Friday Akpan, Emmanuel and the mastermind Bright (alias Nelly) were prosecuted by the Rivers State Ministry of Justice.
The judiciary upheld Nigeria’s strict anti-kidnapping and homicide laws, in accordance with precedent for violent, coordinated campus executions in Rivers State, the principal actors were found guilty of kidnapping, conspiracy and murder, resulting in sentences of death by hanging. As at 2026, they remain institutionalized under maximum security.
Reacting to the sad incident, a friend and course mate Lebari Kobob said that she is speechless, that her friend Habiba a 500 level-law student was taken from her three months to their sign out. “Her dream of becoming a lawyer has been cut short due to betrayal from the one she trusted. We sat together in class on Monday, 22nd June 2026 during lectures and talked length but unfortunately, it was our last conversation. Rest in peace, my angel, may justice be served. May your killer be brought to book by the law, till we meet again Habiba” said Labari.
In his own comment, Zebedee Chima said that is so unfortunate that this kind of story kept repeating itself without our young ladies learning a lesson from it. May her soul rest is peace. The lady in question is my neighbour, the mother has not gotten herself since the news was broken to her. So unfortunate honesty!” said Zebedee.
Again, a final year student of the University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) popularly known as Venita has been reported missing. According to reports from individual’s familiar with the situation, she was last seen following an incident at her residence after disagreement with her roommate, Perpetual Chinaru Onyekawa. Witnesses further alleged that some unidentified armed men arrived at the residence during the incident. Since then, Princess Venita has neither been seen nor heard from.
Her family, friends, classmates and colleagues are deeply concerned for her safety and are appealing to members of the public to assist with any credible information that may lead to her whereabouts.
