By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the death of a man simply identified as Ken in a hotel (name withheld) in Khana street, D-line, Port Harcourt, on Sunday morning after he booked a room on Saturday night.
The Spokesperson for the command,SP Grace Iringe Koko responding to enquiry by our reporter into the incident, said a staff of the hotel came to make a report about the sudden death of a guest at Olu Obasanjo Police Division, Port Harcourt.
She added that subsequently, the Division Police Officers and some detectives went to the hotel, where photographs of the deceased were taken and preliminary investigation was carried out .
SP Koko said the corpse of the man has been retrieved by the Police and deposited in mortuary, while investigation is ongoing.
It is also not immediately certain if the deceased logged in the hotel with a Guest or not.
However, speaking on the tragic incident, a Human Rights Advocate,Prince Wiro, of Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign said information available to him suggest that the hotel do not have a functional Close Circuit Television,CCTV Camera and properly check-in procedure .
Mr. Wiro suggested that is the area he the Police should to look at during investigations.
Mr. Wiro noted that his investigation has shown that many hotels and Guest Houses in Rivers State are not adhering to check-in procedures as stipulated by the State Government sometimes in 2018/2019 when was a serial killer was on rampage, killing women in hotels and guest houses.
Mr.Wiro said the Rivers State Government through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism should set up a Task Force to monitor the level of compliance by hotels and Guest houses as regards to check-in procedures
He noted that absence of proper check-in procedures in hotels and guest houses makes it difficult for the Police and other relevant security agencies to carry out proper investigation when a crime occurs in such places.
