The Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has remanded 75 persons to the Correctional Centre following alleged conspiracy in the murder of the District Police Officer (DPO) of Ahoada Police Division, SP Bako Angbashim.

The suspects were arraigned on two counts of conspiracy to murder and felony.

They were arrested immediately after Angbashim was killed and his body dismembered by a cult group in Ahoada East led by David Gift Okpala Okpolowu, popularly called 2baba.

Among the persons arraigned and remanded were a former Chairman of Ahoada East LGA, Cassidy Ikegbidi, Eze Ekpeye Logbo and His Royal Majesty Eze, Ngozi Angwo.

The defendants, who were arraigned by the Commissioner of Police, failed to take their plea.

A bail application by one of the defendant’s lawyers, Dejo Lamikara, was opposed by the prosecuting lawyer, SP Eniyepere Sikpi.

But the trial Judge, Justice Sika Aprioku after listening to the argument by the lawyers, ordered that the defendants be remanded in the correctional centre and adjourned the case till 21st November for plea and bail consideration.

Youths and the student community in Ekpeye called for an end to the politicisation of killings in their area.

Secretary-General of Ekpeye Youth Worldwide, Adokiye Oyagiri, in Port Harcourt said that some youths of the area were being used to make inciting statements against the leader of the state House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, who represents Ahoada East Constituency II.

He said: “I think it is everybody’s right to talk about the 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 N100milion on the killers of the DPO, and till today we are yet to hear from the police if he has been captured or not.

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

PUNCH