The Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have arrested one Hashiru Baku – the mastermind behind the murder of late Brigadier General Harold Udokwere.
Udokwere, who was the National Chairman, Retired Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces, was murdered by armed robbers who invaded his residence on June 22, 2024, and took away his gun.
The police arrested and paraded Ibrahim Rabiu, Nafiu Jamil, Aliyu Abdullahi and Mohammed Nuhu in connection with the crime on June 24, 2024.
Addressing journalists on Monday while parading arrested suspects, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh said Baku was arrested in Kano State while trying to run away from the country.
Igweh said the suspect was an escapee from the Kuje Correctional Centre.
He said, “I did show you the four killers, kidnappers, and robbers that went and killed Brigadier-General Uwe Harrod, retired. Today, I will show you the organiser of the killing and the robbery.
“As well as we have recovered the general’s gun that was with him. We have recovered the wristwatch of the general and the wife’s jewelry which they stole from the general’s house.
“The organiser is here and we have arrested him. He is the organiser. He was in prison and during the Kuje Correctional Centre attack, he escaped.”
The police boss added that “instead of him repenting, he continued with more audacity. We arrested him in Kano where he was trying to exit the country.
“We recovered these drugs in his residence. So, that’s what they take and they will continue to be high.”
Warn FCT residents against protest
Meanwhile, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh, has called on residents and indigenes not to partake in the nationwide protest.
Some groups and citizens had scheduled a nationwide protest for August 1 in response to the economic hardship in the country.
However, the FCT police boss, while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Monday, urged residents to shun the protest.
He stated that the police have made significant efforts to ensure security in the FCT, adding that the protest could jeopardise it.
Igweh said, “I want to appeal specifically to the residents and indigenes and everybody in the FCT. Please, lions do not destroy their dens. You cannot see a lion that destroys its den. No, I would not like you to join this protest. I plead with you because we have worked hard to ensure your safety.
“We have fought those people outside Abuja. We have been to Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Niger to fight criminals so that you can be safe. I have lost men. Last week alone in Gidango, I lost two policemen. The other day, I lost two more. Let our loss pay for the protest. I want to plead with you.
“We don’t need you to be in the streets before somebody will say they are trying the police’s might. Or you will say, you will do this, you will do that. Please, please, don’t destroy where you are living.”
Igweh added that the government was doing its best by providing good roads.
“If you check, the government has provided good roads. Whether it’s from the minister of FCT or the president, check the streets in FCT, from Wuse to anywhere you can check, even in the hinterlands.
“They are trying their best. I don’t need to talk to anybody, but I’m saying it because we have been in the FCT. We know when there are changes. There are changes now in the FCT.
“And we don’t want miscreants outside the FCT to come and start destroying them. We will go back to square one where we were before. I plead, I beg of you, do not join this protest,” he added.
He urged the FCT residents to ensure the nation’s capital remains safe by shunning the protest.
“Let us continue collectively to make the FCT safe. Let them go and do what they want to do, but not with us.
“Act maturely. Act maturely. Act like people who appreciate. Even the losses we have suffered to ensure your safety. Use it to appreciate us. If you do this, we will be happy. We will continue to provide security for you. God bless all of you,” he said.
