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By Emmanuel Adeleke
Gunmen, suspected to be cultists, on Friday night beheaded the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Ahoada, in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, Bako Angbashim.
It was gathered that the officer, a superintendent of police, was beheaded by suspected members of Iceland cult group in Odemude, a community in the council area.
The attackers were said to have laid an ambush for the DPO while he and other officers were planning to raid some criminal hideouts in the area.
A video clip, which went viral on Friday night, showed Angbanshim’s head, hands and his private part cut into pieces.
The gunmen in the clip chanted victory songs while the officer’s remains littered the ground.
The Rivers State Police Command spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the killing of the DPO in a statement on Saturday.
She said the DPO was shot and killed after his team exhausted their ammunition during a shoot-out with the cult group
“In the face of this adversity, SP Bako Angbashim, valiantly held his ground while his men, depleted of ammunition, made a tactical retreat. Regrettably, during this engagement, SP Bako Angbashin sustained fatal injuries.
“The criminal seized the body of SP Bako Angbashim, forcing the remaining officers to return to their base for reinforcement,” she said.
Iringe-Koko said thick darkness at that time prevented some officers and military reinforcement team from recovering the DPO’s body from the hoodlums.
She said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Polycarp Nwonyi, has expressed deep determination to track down the killers of the DPO.
“An extensive investigation is underway to uncover the circumstances surrounding this tragic event,” she said.
The spokesperson said the police in the state have condoled with the family of the slain DPO and everyone affected by the distressing incident.