Police arrest three suspects over killing of female lawyer in Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three suspects in connection with the brutal killing 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, describing the arrests as a major breakthrough in the command’s sustained fight against violent crime in the nation’s capital.

Adeh said the suspects were notorious armed robbers involved in “one-chance” criminal operations and were directly linked to the gruesome murder of the lawyer.

According to her, the arrest followed clear directives from the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, Mr Miller Dantawaye, who ordered that the perpetrators of the crime and other similar offences be identified and brought to justice.

She said operatives of the command’s Scorpion Squad, led by ACP Victor Godfrey, tracked the victim’s mobile phone using reconstructive digital intelligence between January 5 and January 20.

“The squad conducted intelligence-led follow-up operations at Dei-Dei, Dakwa and Dan-Tata communities within the Kubwa area of the FCT.

“These operations led to the arrest of three suspects, two of whom are biological brothers,” Adeh said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were members of a notorious “one-chance” armed robbery syndicate that has operated intermittently within the FCT for several years.

The police spokesperson said investigations further showed that on January 5, at about 5:50 pm, the victim unknowingly boarded a black Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle along the Kubwa Motorway, unaware that the occupants were criminals.

“Upon entering the vehicle, the suspects wound up the tinted windows and threatened the victim with weapons in a bid 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 Motorway, leading to her death,” Adeh stated.

She added that the suspects confessed to dispossessing the victim of her Android mobile phone and selling it at Dei-Dei for N120,000, which was shared among the three suspects and another accomplice who is currently at large.

Items recovered from the suspects included five scissors, two sharp daggers, two knives, a long chain used for restraining victims, and a pair of pliers.

“These items are believed to have been used in the commission of their criminal activities,” Adeh said.

She assured that investigations were ongoing, adding that efforts had been intensified to arrest the fleeing suspect and dismantle any additional criminal networks linked to the syndicate.

(NAN)