20 arrested over killing of policemen, missing NYSC members in Rivers re-run

By Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor, & Kingsley Omonobi
Indications emerged, yesterday, that the crack police team sent to Rivers State to nab the killers of Deputy Superintendent of Police Alkali Mohammed, his orderly and other missing officers during the re-run elections in Rivers State, might have made a breakthrough, with over 20 suspects in police net.

Senior police officers involved in the manhunt for the killers will, today, brief the police high command on the development before making public the ‘highly priced catch.’

Vanguard gathered that the briefing will include the fate of the police officers and members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, who were also abducted during the ambush by some cultists at Uju community, Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.
This came as the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the setting up of a special panel to investigate the incident.

The police boss also expressed satisfaction with the performance of officers during the re-run parliamentary elections, adding that the beheading of the officers did not affect the successful outcome of the elections; he also condoled with the victims’ families.

A special squad invades River
Vanguard gathered that the special police team made up of officers from IGP’s Intelligence Response Team, IRT; the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, both from Force Headquarters, Abuja; Special Anti-Robbery team from Ikeja and Adeniji-Adele, both in Lagos; the Intelligence Unit in Abuja and Rivers State, and the Special Investigations Bureau, SIB, arrived Rivers State soon after the beheading of the officers by suspected cultists during an ambush at Uju.

The team, according to sources, swung into action and was able to trace the hideout of the suspected killers after searching Uju community and beyond.

It was learned that no fewer than 20 suspects are presently in police net, but sources said they were sure that the real perpetrators must be amongst those apprehended.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, “

we have actually recorded a breakthrough, but we will not make it public until we fish out our missing officers and members of the NYSC— dead or alive.”
DSP Mohammed, who was leading about 12 officers of MOPOL 48 on election security duty, was said to have run into heavy gunfire.

Three of the officers escaped, while five officers are still missing.
Give us 48 hours —POLICE
Efforts to confirm or clarify this development from police authorities in Abuja failed as those spoken with advised “hold on for now. We are still tracking them and we will certainly get them.
“
Within the next 48 hours, you will get the news. For now, we do not want anything to jeopardise our efforts.”

A statement by Force Public Relations Officer, Don Awunah, said: “A high powered investigation team has been directed to unravel the circumstances surroun-ding the death of the officers.

“The gains of the security personnel’s performance in the Edo and Ondo elections were further concretised in the Rivers re-run elections in the areas of deployment of logistics, enabling the process, stakeholder’s enga-gement, facilitating voter’s participation, inter-agency collaboration and general provision of peace and security in the state before, during and after elections.”