Slain DPO: Police Closing In On Prime Suspect — Rivers CP

Emeka Nwonyi, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, has said the state police command was closing in on the prime suspect who captured and killed the late Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada East Local Government Area, Bako Angbashim, over a fortnight ago.

Angbashim, a Superintendent of Police, was captured by a suspected, Iceland gang, a deadly cult group led by Gift Okpara in the Odiemudie community, Ahoada West LGA.

The miscreants decapitated the body, filmed it and went away with his remains.

The police have since been on the trail of the wanted gang leader who has been on the run, though the command said its operatives have so far arrested four suspects linked with the gruesome murder of the DPO.

But speaking at an event in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Thursday, Nwonyi said the command has made significant progress in its investigation to apprehending Okpara, who he described as the main criminal suspect.

The CP disclosed that some of the suspects so far arrested have made useful statements that have boosted its dragnet.

He stated, “So much progress is being made. You need to understand that there is information you don’t share while investigations are going on.

“But we are very close to the main prime criminal. We are very, very close to him and we are going to catch up with him by the grace of God. We are putting up our strategies and he will fall into our net very soon.

“However, those other ones who are his foot soldiers, including those who participated actively in some of those crimes have also shown face.

“We are also going after some of them to see how to get them. So very soon we will also have a more relaxed mind that those bad boys are not in our environment.”

While commending the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for his support to the security agencies to ensure the arrest and prosecution of the prime suspect, he urged residents of the state to support the ‘Operation Zero Crime’ fight recently launched in the state.

“You can see the passion the governor of the state has shown when he said the man that killed the gallant DPO that served under me here and the governor placed a bounty of N100 million on his head for anyone that can give information leading to his arrest.

”That shows how passionate he is to making us achieve our purpose. Rivers State is a very wealthy state. It has everything it takes to be vibrant, and what is the setback? – Security.

“And that setback is what I want to see whether we can weed and mop up. When that is done, it is going to be a boom in Rivers State,” Nwonyi said.