The wanted cult kingpin, Gift David Opara, alias 2Baba has told the police and the Rivers State Government that even if he is captured and taken out of the way, the problem of insecurity in Ekpeyeland will persist because there are cultists like him.
Ekpeyeland is made of Ahoada-East and Ahoada-West Local Government Areas in Rivers State.
The Iceland Cult kingpin suspect who has a N100 million bounty on him for the murder of SP Bako Angbashim, the Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada, disclosed this in a surprise call into a Port Harcourt-based Nigeria Info FM interactive programme on Tuesday monitored by our Correspondent.
Among other things, he said that there are other “Generals” like him commanding their various cult groups and holding on to their territories constantly in rival battles for supremacy for territorial control.
On the death of SP Angbashim, 2Baba reiterated that he was not involved and was not aware of who killed him.
“I’m not aware of the video and I didn’t know about it because I was not online. We only spoke that day concerning an upcoming local wrestling which I was sponsoring. He said he would like to attend. We also talked about bringing peace to Ekpeye land,” he said.
He said the late DPO might have been killed by other cult groups but roped it on him.
On why there are cult groups headed by different “Generals”, 2Baba said, “There are a lot of cult groups in Ekpeyeland but I’m surprised that they keep mentioning my name any time they commit crime. Most of the other “Generals” carry better guns than myself but they keep mentioning my name.“Some of my boys travelled to one of the communities, they killed them and carried my guns. If I go there to retrieve my guns, they will say I have killed people that is why I’m staying on my own.”
He also denied confiscating other people’s dredgers and appropriating them for himself.
“I’m into dredging business and I have not been seizing anybody’s dredger. I’m doing my own business. Has anybody reported me to any police that I have seized his dredger?” He asked.
He said he took up arms because after he led the members of his gang to surrender arms to the government and embraced amnesty, rival gangs who refused to submit their arms took advantage of it, killed his younger brother and razed down his family house.
Asked whether the different cult groups are not concerned about the lack of peace and development in Ekpeye land and the deaths of innocent people, he said “I don’t kill innocent people.
“It is we, the rival cult groups that are killing ourselves to protect our territories. If the Army or Police come for me, I run because I don’t want to kill government people. I don’t want trouble. But if they are members of the Greenland Cult group, I won’t run, I will fight them. It is we who are fighting and killing ourselves because we are fighting for supremacy.”
He said that he could only identify the leaders of rival cult groups by their aliases but not their real names.
2Baba said some politicians normally contact the different cult leaders during the election period with a lot of unfulfilled promises just to have peaceful elections.
On why he decided to speak now not earlier, he said he was surprised that Governor Siminalayi Fubara declared him wanted without ordering for thorough investigation before declaring only him wanted.