Police Apprehend Hotel Staff, Friends After Guest's Death in Port Harcourt

Authorities in Rivers State have taken into custody several employees of a Port Harcourt hotel, alongside some friends, in connection with the demise of a guest identified as Okorite Charles. Mr. Charles, reportedly in his mid-20s, is said to have passed away under unclear circumstances after checking into the hotel with acquaintances.

Earlier this week, the police command initiated an investigation by sealing off the hotel's operations. ASP Agabe Blessing Karbolo, the command’s spokesperson, stated that the deceased was purportedly thrown from an upper level of the establishment, though the specifics of the incident remain under investigation. She confirmed that Mr. Charles was quickly transported to a medical facility where a doctor pronounced him dead.

ASP Karbolo further elaborated on the events that followed, noting, “The victim’s friends came to the hotel and commenced a protest, which attracted a crowd and threatened to disrupt the peace of the area.” She added that police operatives were swiftly deployed to the scene upon receiving this information, where they successfully managed the situation and averted any further breakdown of public order. She confirmed that “The hotel staff on duty at the time of the incident, as well as the victim’s friends who were present with him, were arrested for questioning and investigation into the circumstances surrounding the d3ath.” The hotel’s activities have been temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing inquiry.

Meanwhile, Mr. Obomate, the deceased’s brother, had earlier claimed that a medical practitioner at the hospital where Charles was taken observed what seemed to be a stab wound on his abdomen. He also conveyed the family’s suspicion that an object might have been used to strike the deceased on the neck.