There was a mild drama at the Police Station in Bonny, headquarters of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State as a suspect told the Police that he was at a movie location while the Police was looking for him.

Also, Kristina Reports learnt that his lawyer, who accompanied him to the Police Station, walked out on the suspect for not disclosing the true nature of the alleged offence for which he was being sought for by the Police.

The suspect, Raphael Iyeowuna Pepple, who insisted on his alibi that he was at a movie location, however, did not say if he was shooting or directing a movie production on set.

Pepple was wanted by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) after he allegedly absconded when his speedboat was confiscated by the Police for being used by sea pirates during a recent attack on passengers along the Bonny River.

The attack, which took place on Saturday, March 12, 2022, close to Onne in Eleme LGA of Rivers State, was foiled by operatives of the Marine Police, who chased the hoodlums into the mangrove, leaving behind their speedboat and other equipment used for their nefarious activities.

Sources told Kristina Reports that, upon impounding the speedboat, the Police discovered that a Bonny indigene, Raphael Iyeowuna Pepple was the owner of the implicated speedboat and went in search of him, only to learn of his disappearance from the island.

A top official of one of the security agencies in Bonny LGA, who preferred anonymity, hinted Kristina Reports that Pepple later called the Police from his hideout that he was ready to surrender himself to the Police.

“On hearing that his boat was apprehended, he ran away from the town. After some weeks, he called the station through his wife that was invited and said he will be coming to surrender himself. Suddenly, on 19th March, 2022, he came to the station in company of one Barr. Tamunosa Cookey.”

When Kristina Reports reached Pepple’s alleged lawyer, Tamunosa Cookey, seeking to know the reason for abandoning his client at the police station, he responded with “everything is under control”, declining to clarify what was actually “under control”.

A source, however, hinted Kristina Reports that from his body language at the police station, the lawyer appeared not to have been happy that his client kept him in the dark about the true nature of things.

During interrogation, the suspect, when asked how his boat got into the hands of sea pirates, said he leased the speedboat to a man in Bodo City, but when asked whether he has contacted the man that hired the boat, he replied that the man has relocated and his phone number was not responding.

On why he delayed in reporting the issue to the Police, Pepple said he was afraid of being attacked by the hoodlums who he claimed snatched the boat from the man he leased it to.

Another knowledgeable source on the matter, who does not want to be named, told Kristina Reports that the suspect has now being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) in Port Harcourt for further investigation and possible prosecution.