Woman, two hotel workers linked to dumped body in Abuja – Police

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has linked a woman and two workers of a Gwarimpa guest house to the dumping of the body of a man found under the Katampe Bridge, Abuja.

The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this on Saturday while briefing journalists at the Command headquarters in Abuja.

Sanusi said the lifeless body was discovered along the Kubwa Expressway by Katampe on August 26, after the deceased had earlier been reported missing by his family.

He said the discovery was initially linked in media reports and public commentary to kidnapping and “one chance” robbery.

“Beyond the media reports, however, there was a family grieving and struggling to understand what had happened to their loved one,” the CP said.

According to him, investigators established that the deceased was the same person whose disappearance had earlier been reported and commenced efforts to determine the circumstances surrounding his death.

Sanusi said the deceased’s missing mobile phone provided a major lead in the investigation.

“In the course of the investigation, we discovered that the deceased’s mobile phone was missing. This became a significant lead in the investigation, and our operatives commenced efforts to track the device and establish its last known location and usage,” he said.

Although the phone had been switched off, investigators traced the deceased’s last known communication to Mrs Rukayat Muhammed of Garki Area 2, according to the CP.

He said further investigation revealed that Muhammed, a married woman, was allegedly in a romantic relationship with the deceased and had saved his contact as “Safiyat” on her phone.

• Police rescue kidnap victim, arrest suspect in Rivers
• Give me more time to finish reforms – Tinubu
• Police arrest guard over defilement, death of minor in Niger

Sanusi said the pair had lodged at Good Samaritan Guest House, Second Avenue, Gwarimpa, where Muhammed allegedly discovered that the deceased was no longer breathing.

“Rather than immediately reporting the incident to the Police, the suspect took the deceased’s mobile phone and left the hotel,” the CP said.

He said several hours later, after attempts by the hotel management to contact the occupants of the room failed, the room was accessed and the deceased’s body was found.

According to Sanusi, two members of the hotel management, identified as Ibrahim Omeiza and Kefat Bitrus, allegedly removed the body from the room and transported it to the Kubwa Expressway by Katampe, where they dumped it under the bridge.

“Instead of reporting the discovery to the Police, two members of the hotel management identified as Ibrahim Omeiza and Kefat Bitrus subsequently removed the body from the room and transported it to Kubwa expressway by Katampe under the bridge where they dumped it by the roadside,” he said.

The CP, however, stressed that the investigation had not established the exact cause and circumstances of the man’s death.

“The exact cause and circumstances of the deceased’s death still under investigation, other investigative processes are being pursued to determine the full facts of the case,” Sanusi said.

He added that anyone found to have played a role in the death or subsequent concealment and abandonment of the body would face the law.

The Commissioner said the investigation demonstrated the Command’s resolve not to draw conclusions from the discovery of bodies before establishing the facts surrounding their deaths.