Suspected Port Harcourt serial killer, Gracious David-West, on Monday shocked people in court when he denied images of him on the front page of a newspaper and a short video clip of him in a hotel with his alleged last victim were not his.

The 40-year-old is standing trial on 10 count charge of murder of nine young women and attempted murder of another woman in different hotels in Rivers state, especially, Port Harcourt last year.

He pleaded guilty of the charges slammed against him when he was first arraigned but later changed when a lawyer indicated interest to defend him.

In his evidence in chief at the last sitting early this March, David-West had told the presiding Judge, Adolphus Enebeli that he did not visit any hotel in any part of the state last year neither did he kill anybody.

However, the prosecuting state counsel, Chidi Eke, came to court with a local tabloid that published one of the photographs that were taken of him in handcuffs the day he was paraded by the Commissioner of Police Mustapha Dandaura, shortly after his arrest by men of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) to discredit his claims.

Eke equally played a short viral Close Circuit Television (CCTV), a clip of him and his last victim, Dorcas David, in a hotel in a part of the capital city, while he putting on the same white and blue striped T-Shirt he wore on the photographs.

Surprisingly, the suspect denied that he was the person in any of the images, insisting that he does not know what they were talking about as he has not committed any offence.

However, while the Judge allowed the video images to be admitted as an exhibit, he did not accept the copy of the newspaper, on the ground of discretion of the court.

The matter was later adjourned to March 27 for continuation.

The Department of State Services (DSS) says it does not presently own or operate an official website.

This was made known in a statement by the Public Relations Officer, Department of State Services, National Headquarters, Abuja, on Monday, Dr. Peter Afunanya,

The Service also stated it does not own or operate social media platforms, particularly Facebook and Twitter handles.

They said they do not conduct employments through any of the aforementioned.

They dissociated the Service from websites and social media pages “fraudulently being operated by an imposter”.

They warned members of the public to be wary of them.

The statement read, “The Department of State Services (DSS) wishes to restate that it does not presently own or operate an official website or any social media platforms particularly twitter and Facebook handles. It also does not conduct its recruitment through any of the aforementioned.

“This statement has become important so as to dissociate the Service from some websites fraudulently being operated by impostors. Therefore, such websites, Facebook pages, and twitter handles disguised as those of the DSS for purposes of employment or any other reason should be disregarded.

“It is instructive to note that persons of dubious character, who are guided by pecuniary interests, use false social media platforms suggesting to be owned by the DSS to lure and defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

“For emphasis, the Service wishes to inform the public that it only operates one official email ([email protected]) and will not hesitate to avail it (the public) of its social media details if it opened them.

“Meanwhile, the populace is strongly advised to desist from spreading false information on prevailing matters of national concern that may cause anxiety, confusion and fear. The Service, therefore, warns that defaulters will be dealt with in accordance with the law while it will continue to partner with strategic stakeholders to ensure safety, order, security and peace across the country.”