The attackers who ambushed Badeh’s convoy operated on the old Keffi/Kaduna road, not the Abuja/Keffi expressway as it was being speculated.
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The killers of the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, have released his farm manager. Daily Sun gathered that the farm manager, who was also a very close friend of the deceased, was released Thursday after the family paid a ransom of N3 million. Police sources told Daily Sun in Abuja that the farm manager, Engineer Joe, who was still in shock, was also helping the police in their investigations.
Badeh’s death: How ex-CDS was killed
The kidnappers were said to have made contact with Joe’s family three days after the attack and made a demand of N20 million, which was later reduced to N3 million. They were able to contact the family with the engineer’s mobile telephone.
It was gathered that the attackers who ambushed Badeh’s convoy actually operated on the old Keffi/Kaduna road, not the Abuja/Keffi expressway as it was being speculated.
Daily Sun reliably gathered that operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), who took over the investigation on the directives of the IGP, Ibrahim Idris, after the gruesome murder of Badeh, have made significant progress in their investigations and made major arrests.
Sources told Daily Sun that the suspects, who are mostly Fulani herdsmen, are in custody and helping investigators with information to apprehend other members of the gang. A police source that did not want to be named disclosed that the attackers, who have been operating on that road for sometime now, have made the road unbearable for travellers, especially those travelling to Jos, Kachia and other villages in Kaduna State.
The source said: “I can assure you that we have made a major breakthrough in the investigation into the gruesome killing of the former Chief of Defence Staff. I cannot say much but the Force PRO will brief the press on Thursday because of the Christmas (holiday), so just wait and see what we have.
“We took the matter seriously because of the caliber of personality involved and, with this attack, it means nobody is safe. It is Badeh today, it can be any other person tomorrow.”
The attackers, who were said to operate at anytime of the day, have been a terror to road users. They have killed many innocent travellers and motorists and dispossessed them of their money and other valuables.
The route, which is located along the road hosting the headquarters of 177, Guards Battalion, according to police sources, is notorious for violent crime and kidnapping-for-ransom.
With the arrest of some of the prime suspects, the police are set to reveal the identity of Badeh’s killers on Thursday.
