Gift Okpara, a.k.a 2baba, the fleeing prime suspect in the gruesome murder of the former Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada East Division, SP Bako Angbashim has denied his involvement in the crime.

Daily Independent had reported that Angbashim was killed and dismembered on September 8, in Odiemudie community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State allegedly by a deadly cult group known as Iceland, led by Gift Okpara, a notorious cultist.

Okpara’s gang in a viral video were seen boasting about their feat and invincibility, after dismembering the slain DPO’s body, an act that was widely condemned.

Following the development, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, placed a N100m bounty on the prime suspect, while the police declared him wanted and launched a manhunt for him which led to the arrest of four suspected gang members linked with the murder of the DPO.

Surprisingly, the prime suspect on Monday in a voice note circulated to journalists in Port Harcourt, claimed innocence in the crime, alleging that was been framed by the real culprits.

Opkara said although he spoke with the late DPO before his untimely death, he was not involved in the killing of the cop.

He said, “I want to tell the Rivers State government that I am not involved in anything concerning the death of the DPO, so all this while I didn’t want to say anything, but I am saying this today because the real culprits are putting the blame on me.

“I am surprised that is why I decided to tell my people that I am not after DPO, it is just that the incident happened in my community road and the day the incident happened I spoke to the man. I and DPO discussed, I wasn’t even there, I was shocked when I heard it.”

The prime suspect, who was granted amnesty by the immediate past administration of Rivers State after surrendering his arms, explained that after a rival cult group killed his younger brother, he reneged on his agreement with the state government and took up arms again.

“We submitted all the rifles in our custody but some other groups refused to submit their rifles and the government did nothing to them.

“So we started regretting it, because other groups, our enemies had the advantage over us, they started killing our people because we didn’t have any gun again.

“They killed my younger brother, same mother and father, they burnt our house, that is what annoyed me that made me go back to guns.

“I’m not into kidnapping, everybody knows that I don’t do bunkering, I don’t involve in criminality, I only concentrate on my dredging business.”

Meanwhile, the Igbu Akoh Youth Congress in Ahoada East LGA have described the denial of the prime suspect as a ploy to distract the judiciary and security agencies who were currently prosecuting over 50 suspects, including three monarchs for the murder of the DPO.

Public Relations Officer of Igbu Akoh Youth Congress, Comrade Ekeakita Hector Chinem, who spoke on behalf of the youths, called on the gang leader to stop speaking from hiding and surrender himself to the police to prove his innocence.

“Early this morning, we had news flying around that on notorious criminal, kidnapper, unlawful possession of firearms and cultist known as David Gift is going around radio stations saying that he is not the one killed SP Bako Angbashim, he is not into killing and cultism in Ahoada East.

“I want the public to disregard all those denials, these are just falsehoods and it is because of the court case that is about to happen tomorrow.

“We want to tell David Gift Mighty Okporonwo that if he says his hands are clean, he’s not involved in the death of Bako, he should submit himself to the police and tell the police what happened to Bako in his own community.

“He should also tell the police who has been killing sons of Ekpeye and Akor at large. He should stop hiding and stop giving distractions to the judiciary and the security agencies, because I know his days are numbered,” Chinem added. (Daily Independent)

Update news