Court Remands ex-LG Chair, Monarch over Rivers DPO Murder

A High Court in Port Harcourt has remanded 75 individuals to the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy to murder the Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada, Bako Angbashim.

The suspects, facing charges of conspiracy to murder and felony, were arrested following Angbashim’s capture and brutal killing by a suspected cult group led by David Okpala, alias 2-baba, in Odomude community, Ahoada East Local Government Area, in September 2023.

Among those remanded is Cassidy Ikegbidi, a former Chairman of Ahoada East LGA. The defendants were arraigned in court by the Commissioner of Police but did not enter a plea. The bail application filed by Dejo Lamikara, one of the defendants’ lawyers, was opposed by the prosecuting counsel, Eniyepere Sikpi.

After considering the arguments presented by both parties, the presiding judge, Justice Sika Apirioku, ordered the defendants’ remandation to the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre. The case was adjourned until November 21, 2023, for plea and bail consideration.

Meanwhile, youths, including students from Ekpeye land, have condemned the surge in violence in the area and urged an end to what they perceive as the politicization of the ongoing killings.

Adokiye Oyagiri, the Secretary-General of Ekpeye Youth Worldwide, expressed concerns about the use of some youths in the area to make inciting statements against Edison Ehie, the Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly who represents Ahoada East Constituency II.

“I think it is everybody’s right to talk about insecurity but where there is an issue is when people begin to make false allegations and claims that they cannot be substantiated.

“We all know that immediately after the DPO of Ahoada East was killed, the governor placed a bounty of N100 million on the killers of the DPO, and till today we are yet to hear from the police if he has been captured or not.

“A few days ago, we had some other killings and we do not have details and we did not know when it happened until we heard the news that people had been killed.

“We reacted appropriately and we went to the press, we issued a statement condemning the killings and then we began to hear that there is a group saying they are concerned youths of Ekpeye,” he said