From Joe Effiong, Uyo
A man suspected to be an Army Corporal serving in Akwa Ibom State has been arrested for armed robbery and murder.
The suspected corporal whose name the police authority in the state has not released was said to have killed his victim, a businessman, while hitchhiking in the deceased’s vehicle.
He did not only kill the businessman, allegedly shooting him with his service rifle, but also robbed the deceased of his vehicle, speeding off and leaving his victim on the road to die.
It was learned on Tuesday from a police source at Ikot Abasi, where the murdered businessman hailed from, that the suspected officer was tracked and arrested at Ukanafun, where the vehicle and rifle were recovered from him.
‘The incident happened on Sunday; a motorist offered a serving army officer a ride in his vehicle not knowing that he was going to kill him. [When] they got to [the] place, the Army officer flattened his vehicle, attacked him and killed him, and after killing him dumped his corpse by the way side,’ the source said.
‘The attention of the police was drawn to the scene and they swung into action and recovered the corpse and later deposited it at the mortuary for preservation. That was on Sunday.
‘On Monday, the deceased’s relatives came to the police in Ikot Abasi for assistance. Fortunately, the vehicle had a tracking device, so the police assisted them in tracking the vehicle, they tracked the car to Ukanafun LGA, where they surounded the place and arrested the armed officer, recovered the vehicle, and an AK-47 rifle from him.’
Daily Sun could not however confirm the true identity of the murder victim, said to be a Port Harcourt-based businessman, who hailed from Esene in Ikot Abasi, even as the suspect was said to have been transferred from Ikot Abasi police division to the state police headquarters at Ikot Akpanabia, Uyo.
The Akwa Ibom state police command while confirming the incident through the Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) Odiko Macdon, said the matter was under investigation, adding that the police were still trying to confirm the Identities of the persons involved.
‘The matter is still under investigation, we are trying to get report and also trying to determine the Identity of the person involved,’ MacDon said.