The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has uncovered the circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was found under the Katampe Bridge along the Kubwa Expressway, Abuja.
The development followed investigators tracing the case to a secret relationship and a guest house in Gwarinpa.
The discovery of the body on August 26 triggered speculation that the victim might have been killed by suspected highway robbers or kidnappers.
However, police investigations reportedly established that the deceased had earlier lodged at the Good Samaritan Guest House, Second Avenue, Gwarinpa, with a woman, identified as Mrs. Lukayat Mohammed of Garki Area 2.
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Ahmed Sanusi, while parading criminal suspects on Saturday, said investigators were led to the woman after tracing the victim’s missing mobile phone and examining his last communication before his death.
According to the police, Mohammed and the deceased were involved in a secret relationship and had checked into the guest house together.
The woman reportedly told investigators that she woke to find the man dead beside her.
Rather than alerting the authorities, she allegedly took his phone and left the room.
Sanusi said the hotel management discovered the body but, instead of reporting the incident, two members of staff, Ibrahim Aumeza and Kepat Beetrus, allegedly removed the corpse from the premises and dumped it near the Katampe Bridge.
Investigators believe the move was intended to conceal the incident and distance the guest house from the death.
The two hotel workers have been arrested, while the police said the actual cause of death would be established through an autopsy.
The Commissioner said the development demonstrated the command’s determination to investigate cases beyond initial appearances and social media narratives.
In another operation, Sanusi said its Anti-Kidnapping Unit engaged suspected kidnappers in a gun battle in Kagarko Forest following the arrest of a suspect, Musbahu Issa.
Issa was arrested on August 2, and operatives returned to the forest on August 16 to continue the investigation.
According to the police, the team recovered two unnumbered AK-47 rifles and loaded magazines from a concealed location in the forest.
However, as operatives were leaving the area with the suspect and recovered weapons, suspected gang members allegedly ambushed them.
Sanusi said a police officer was shot in the right side of his chest during the exchange of gunfire.
He said operatives returned fire, neutralising some attackers and fatally wounding Issa, who later died on arrival at a medical facility.
The injured police officer, according to the command, survived and is responding to treatment.
The police also announced the arrest of suspected members of a robbery syndicate allegedly operating between Abuja and neighbouring Nasarawa State.
The suspects were intercepted around 10 pm on September 22 along the Goodluck Jonathan Expressway, near Cultural Centre Junction.
Police said operatives of the Violent Response Team stopped an ash-coloured Toyota Camry with registration number ABJ 606 SG.
Two occupants, Okwudili Benjamin and Chinedu Abubakar, allegedly attempted to escape but were arrested.
Police reportedly recovered nine stolen Android phones, pliers, wheel locks, and baby pampers from the vehicle.
According to police, Benjamin was previously arrested in 2023.
A follow-up operation led to the arrest of Osondu Bernard, an alleged receiver of stolen goods, near the NNPC Junction in Nyanya.
The command also paraded suspects allegedly involved in a tricycle robbery syndicate accused of attacking commuters at night.
Police said members of the gang operated by driving alongside victims, stabbing them with knives before dispossessing them of their valuables.
The Commissioner also warned against vandals targeting electricity infrastructure and other critical installations in the FCT.
He said several vandals had died from electrocution while attempting to tamper with high-tension cables and transformers.
Sanusi expressed concern over cases in which suspects allegedly attempted to cut live electricity cables inside underground culverts.
The police chief also reiterated the command’s enforcement of laws against the criminal use of heavily tinted vehicle windows, which he said could be exploited to conceal robbery and other violent crimes.
He assured residents that the command would sustain operations against criminal networks within the FCT and extend such operations to neighbouring states where necessary.
‘We will not be tired. We will do handshake operations, go into neighbouring states and flush them out,’ he said, stressing that the police would continue to pursue those threatening the peace of the nation’s capital.