The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three suspects in connection with the death of a female lawyer, Ms. Princess Chigbo, in Abuja.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, describing the arrests as a major breakthrough in the command’s fight against violent crime.
Adeh said the suspects were allegedly members of a notorious armed robbery and “one-chance” syndicate linked to the gruesome murder of the lawyer.
According to her, the arrests followed clear directives by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the FCT, Mr. Miller Dantawaye, to identify and bring to justice those responsible for the killing and similar crimes within the territory.
She explained that between January 5 and January 20, operatives of the Command’s Scorpion Squad, led by ACP Victor Godfrey, deployed reconstructive digital intelligence to track the victim’s mobile phone.
“The squad carried out follow-up operations at Dei-Dei, Dakwa and Dan-Tata communities within the Kubwa Area of the FCT. These intelligence-led operations resulted in the arrest of three suspects, two of whom are biological brothers,” Adeh said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects had been involved in “one-chance” criminal activities within and around the FCT for several years.
Adeh stated that on January 5, at about 5:50 p.m., the lawyer unknowingly boarded a black Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, unaware that the occupants were criminals.
“Upon entering the vehicle, the suspects wound up the tinted windows and threatened the victim with weapons in an attempt to force her to pay ransom for her release.
“When she allegedly refused to cooperate, she was physically assaulted and pushed out of the moving vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, leading to her death,” she said.
She added that the suspects confessed to dispossessing the lawyer of her Android mobile phone, which was later sold at Dei-Dei for N120,000, with the proceeds shared among the three suspects and one accomplice who is currently at large.
Items recovered from the suspects include five scissors, two dagger knives, two other knives, a long chain allegedly used to restrain victims, and a pair of pliers.
“These exhibits are believed to have been used in the commission of their criminal activities,” Adeh said.
She noted that investigations were ongoing and that efforts had been intensified to arrest the remaining suspect and dismantle any other criminal networks linked to the syndicate.
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