From John Adams, Minna
The Niger State Police Command has apprehended two out of the three suspected killers of a businessman, Late Hassan Shehu in Minna, the state capital.
The suspects had a week ago lured the businessman, said to be a friend of one of the suspects, Bashir Ibrahim to Bosso, a suburb of Minna for a business transaction where he was stabbed to death and his vehicle and N2 million cash was taken away from the deceased.
Parading the suspects at the state police headquarters in Minna on Thursday, the Public Relations Officer of the command DSP Wasiu Abiodun said the suspects, Bashir Ibrahim and Aliyu Ibrahim of the same parents were arrested in a hotel along Western Bye-Pass, Minna.
Also arrested along with the suspects is one Abdullahi Garba aged 22 of Tunga-Mallam, Paikoro Local government area of the state allegedly purchasing the victim’s phone from one of the suspects, Aliyu at the rate of three thousand naira with an exchange of another phone.
According to the police Image maker, a sum of N524,000 was recovered from Bashir, two bottles of suspected chemical substances which he claimed to have purchased from Kano at the rate of N700,000 and the victim’s vehicle.
Abiodun pointed out that the apprehension of the suspects was made possible “after a painstaking investigation and technical intelligence analysis following a marching order by the Commissioner of Police, Monday Bala Kuryas to ensure that the perpetrators of this dastard act are brought to book”.
Abiodun disclosed that “during interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime that both suspects conspired with one Suleiman Mahmud aged 29 of same address presently at large to tie the victim and dispossessed him of the money in his car, but on entering the house, the deceased struggled with the said Suleiman while Aliyu stabbed the victim on the chest and was abandoned till he bled to death”.
The deceased was said to be the best man to Bashir, the prime suspect during his wedding last year.
He confessed to having escaped from the scene with the victim’s vehicle which contained about two million naira and later travelled to Kano to purchase some chemicals for washing gold items from the deceased’s money.
Abiodun said the case is under investigation as an effort is ongoing to apprehend Suleiman Mahmud, adding that “the suspects will be arraigned to court for criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide and receiving stolen property immediately after the investigation is concluded.”