The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) says it 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, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
She said the arrest of the suspects was a major breakthrough in the command’s sustained fight against violent crime in the FCT.
Adeh said the suspects were allegedly notorious armed robbery suspects involved in “one-chance” criminal operations and the gruesome murder of Chigbo.
According to her, the arrest follows clear directives issued by the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the FCT, Mr Miller Dantawaye.
She said the CP had directed that the perpetrators of the murder and other similar crimes within the FCT be identified and brought to justice.
“Between Jan. 5 and 20, operatives of the Command’s Scorpion Squad, led by ACP Victor Godfrey, acting on reconstructive digital intelligence, tracked the victim’s mobile phone.
“The squad conducted follow up operations at Dei-Dei, Dakwa, and Dan-Tata communities within Kubwa Area of the FCT.
“These intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of the three suspects; two of the suspects are biological brothers,” she said.
She said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects were members of a notorious “one-chance” armed robbery syndicate operating on and off within the FCT for several years.
Adeh said further investigations revealed that on Jan. 5, at about 5:50 pm, Chigbo unknowingly boarded their black Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, unaware that the occupants were criminals.
“Upon entry into 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 own release.
“When she allegedly refused to cooperate, she was physically assaulted and pushed out of the moving vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, resulting in her death,” she said.
She said the suspects further admitted to dispossessing the victim of her Android mobile phone and later sold it at Dei-Dei for the sum of N120,000.
Adeh said the money realised from the sale was shared among the three suspects and one other, currently at large.
She said the exhibits recovered from the suspects were five scissors, two sharp dagger knives, two knives, and one long chain used for restraining victims and one plier.
“These items are believed to have been used in the commission of their criminal activities.
“Investigation is ongoing, and intensive efforts are in top gear to apprehend the remaining suspect, who is currently at large, and to uncover any additional criminal networks linked to the syndicate,” she said.
