How FCT Police Nabbed Three Over 2022 Murder of Popular Abuja OAP

Three years after the brutal killing of Liberty Radio staff member, Mr. Azubuko Nwakama, police operatives in Abuja have arrested three suspects linked to the crime.

Nwakama was attacked and robbed on June 14, 2022, at Panteka Market in the Mpape area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He was stabbed during the assault, and his mobile phone and other valuables were stolen.

According to the FCT Police Command, detectives from the Mpape Division immediately launched an investigation. However, the victim’s stolen phone remained switched off for over a year, hampering efforts to trace the culprits.

The breakthrough came on August 2, 2025, when the device—a Redmi 13C—was switched on. Police swiftly tracked it to 32-year-old Mutari Lawal from Kano State. He was arrested and, during interrogation, confessed to the attack. Lawal reportedly named two accomplices: 22-year-old Dan’Asabe Ibrahim from Zamfara State, and 18-year-old Danjuma Ibrahim, who has no fixed address in Mpape.

Police said Lawal admitted taking the stolen phone to Kano, keeping it switched off for a year, and only powering it on this month to erase data, insert his SIM card, and return to Abuja.

FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, commended the persistence and professionalism of the officers who stayed on the case for more than a year. He warned criminals that “the long arm of the law, which is patient, persistent, and resolute, will definitely catch up with them.”

The Command reassured residents that safeguarding lives and property remains its top priority, urging members of the public to stay vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities through the provided emergency lines.