A Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, Alkali Mohammed was killed alongside his orderly, and both men beheaded, during an ambush by cultists at Uju community in Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area during the rerun elections in Rivers State.
Community sources said some cultists allegedly held Uju community hostage on election day, thus preventing voting in the area. Policemen mobilised to engage them for the elections to hold, allegedly ran into an ambush mounted by the hoodlums.
Vanguard gathered that the cultists were those who did not embrace the amnesty programme in the local government area. The development brought the death toll in the re-run elections to five so far.
The DSP, who was leading about 12 Mobile Police officers of MOPOL 48 on election security duty, was said to have run into heavy gunfire from cultists.
Three of the Police officers escaped, while five officers were still missing in action. The attackers went away with the police patrol vehicle containing arms. Also, 16 members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC were abducted but later rescued.
The late DSP Mohammed was the son of a former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State between 2011 and 2012. His father, who is now retired was reportedly on election duty in Rivers State in 2011.
Given the bloody nature of the polls, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, said it was a sad reflection of the level of havoc wreaked on the country’s electoral process by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government.
“Free, fair and credible election is dead in the country and whatever victory that is recorded by any political party in the Rivers State election will be nothing but victory at gun-point,” he said.
With re-run elections ongoing in Akuku-Toru Local Government area in Wards 1,2,3,4, and 5, yesterday, having been suspended on Saturday when dynamites were freely detonated in the area, the APC and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, recorded mixed fortunes in some results announced so far.
“The most brutal incident occurred at Uju Community near Omoku in Onelga, where a police patrol team was ambushed. In the ambush, 10 policemen scampered into the bush.
“The Mobile Police organised a rescue mission. Regrettably, the team discovered that DSP Alkali Mohammed of Mobile Police Unit 48 was beheaded along with his orderly. The patrol vehicle was taken away with weapons, three policemen escaped while 5 were missing in action.
“This is the same area where soldiers of 34 Brigade were ambushed on November 20, 2016 where a soldier was killed. Also on November 21, 2016, four personnel of NSCDC were killed and their weapons carted away.
“These attacks are reasonable evidences of violations and breach of law and order, which portray the area as a flash point. Despite this barbarism, soldiers acted with civility and professionally guaranteeing peaceful election.
“Nigerian Army as a respected institution with constitutional responsibility to safeguard lives and property, could not watch miscreants and hoodlums abducting, maiming and killing innocent citizens especially in senseless attacks on uniform personnel.
“The Rivers State Re-Run Election was adjudged credible, free, fair and peaceful in many parts of the State. Accusations of soldiers’ partisanship, therefore, were a sham and phony. The Division would continue to maintain apolitical posture in discharge of its roles to ensure provision of adequate security in Rivers State.”
