Cultists Gun Down Policeman, Vigilante In Ahoada East

A policeman attached to Ahoada East Local Government secretariat and a vigilante were gunned down on Monday night by people believed to be members of the Iceland cult in Ahoada.
The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olugbenga Adepoju, who confirmed the incident on Tuesday, however vowed that the police would track down the killers and bring them to book.
A press statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Grace Iringe-Koko, condemned the brutal attack, which was led by two notorious gang leaders in the area, Umegbewe Kingsley alias Gutam and one Opaka.
The police statement said the gunmen stormed the OSPAC (vigilance group) office beside the Ahoada East Local Government Secretariat and opened fire on the vigilantes.
It said, “During the assault, OSPAC operative Ngozi Ipah was shot. While escaping, the assailants also gunned down a police officer, Corporal Francis Friday, who was on special duty at the Secretariat with the Special Intervention Squad (SIS).”
It said police patrol teams led by the Divisional Police Officer responded to distress calls but the attackers had already fled.thw scene when they arrived.
“Both victims were rushed to the Ahoada General Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds but were pronounced dead on arrival. Their bodies have been deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy.
“Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga A. Adepoju, has visited the scene and deployed tactical teams to the area. He directed the Area Commander and DPO to intensify efforts to track down and arrest the perpetrators. The CP has vowed that the killers of the police officer and the OSPAC operative will not escape justice.
“The Command urges residents to remain calm and cooperative by reporting any suspicious individuals or activities to the nearest police station,” the stated concluded.
Ahoada East was in the news last weekend when some hoodlums broke into the office of the administrator of the council, beat up the administrator and forced him to sign an already prepared resignation letter.
The state government is yet to respond to the incident. But the police commissioner promised to arrest the suspected hoodlums.
Two years ago, members of Iceland cult group led by one TuBaba ambushed and dismembered the divisional police officer in the area.