The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has uncovered fresh details surrounding the discovery of a man’s body beneath the Katampe Bridge in Abuja, linking a woman and two workers of a Gwarimpa guest house to the disposal of the corpse.
The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this on Saturday during a briefing with journalists at the Command headquarters in Abuja.
According to Sanusi, the deceased was found along the Kubwa Expressway near Katampe on August 26, after his family had earlier reported him missing.
The discovery had sparked speculation that the victim may have been kidnapped or killed by suspected “one-chance” robbers.
However, the police said subsequent investigations took a different direction after detectives confirmed the identity of the deceased and began tracing the circumstances surrounding his death.
Sanusi said the missing mobile phone of the deceased became a crucial lead in the investigation.
He explained that although the phone had been switched off, detectives were able to establish its last known communication, which led them to Mrs Rukayat Muhammed of Garki Area 2.
Further investigation, the commissioner said, showed that Muhammed, a married woman, allegedly had a romantic relationship with the deceased and had saved his contact as “Safiyat” on her phone.
Police investigations reportedly established that the pair had checked into the Good Samaritan Guest House on Second Avenue, Gwarimpa.
Sanusi said Muhammed allegedly discovered while at the guest house that the man was no longer breathing.
Instead of contacting the police or other emergency authorities, she allegedly picked up the deceased’s mobile phone and left the premises.
The police commissioner said the hotel management later became concerned after attempts to reach the occupants of the room failed.
When the room was eventually accessed, the deceased was reportedly found inside.
Rather than alerting the police, two members of the guest house management, identified as Ibrahim Omeiza and Kefat Bitrus, allegedly removed the corpse from the room.
The two workers were said to have transported the body to the Kubwa Expressway around Katampe, where they allegedly abandoned it beneath the bridge.
Sanusi, however, said the police had yet to determine how the man died.
He stressed that investigations were ongoing to establish the precise cause of death and determine the individual roles of everyone connected to the incident.
“The exact cause and circumstances of the deceased’s death are still under investigation. Other investigative processes are being pursued to determine the full facts of the case,” he said.
The commissioner assured that anyone found to have participated in the man’s death or in concealing and abandoning his body would be made to face the law.
Sanusi also said the development demonstrated the Command’s resolve to thoroughly investigate cases involving discovered bodies rather than prematurely attributing deaths to kidnapping, robbery or other criminal activities.
