Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has sentenced four persons to death by hanging for the gruesome murder of former Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada East Police Division in the state, SP Bako Angbashim.
In it’s judgment on Thursday, the court presided by Justice Sika Aprioku found guilty the first defendant, Robinson Sonabari, a native doctor; the second defendant, Bright Okparawo; the fourth defendant, Precious Amaeze, also known as Selina; and the fifth defendant, Loveday Jack, popularly called Ragged Excess of conspiracy, murder, membership of a secret cult group, and robbery.
The court also convicted the sixth defendant, Samuel Nwadinma, sentencing him to three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy in Angbashim ‘s murder, declaring that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, against the convicts.
But the court discharged and acquitted the third defendant of all four counts: conspiracy, murder, membership of a secret cult group, and robbery, after the court found insufficient evidence to convict him.
Also, the court discharged Famous Okechukwu, Samuel Uchendu, Oyekachi Ikonwa, Godbless Nnamdi, and Marshall Daniel, the ninth to thirteenth defendants, despite been found guilty of membership of a secret cult group.
According to the judge, they had already served the statutory terms prescribed by law while in custody, making their continued detention unnecessary.
The four of them were sentenced out of the 13 defendants that stood trial over the killing of Angbashim in September 2023 in Odumude community, Ahoada East Local Government Area.
Recall that the convicts, who are members of a secret cult group that terrorized the area had ambushed the dreaded police officer, killing and decapitating him and later circulated the footage of the incident on the social media.
