Police arrest Abuja ‘one-chance’ robbery syndicate after lawyer's murder

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three suspected members of a notorious “one-chance” armed robbery syndicate linked to the murder of a legal practitioner, Mediatrix Chigbo, in Abuja.

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Announcing the arrests in a statement on Sunday, the police said the development marked “a major breakthrough in its sustained fight against violent crime,” adding that the suspects were involved in “the gruesome murder” of the lawyer.

According to a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, the arrests followed “clear directives issued by the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Miller Dantawaye, to ensure that all perpetrators connected to the heinous murder of the victim and other similar crimes within the FCT are swiftly identified and brought to justice.”

The police said that between 5 and 10 January, operatives of the Command’s Scorpion Squad, led by Victor Godfrey, “acting on reconstructive digital intelligence, tracked the victim’s mobile phone and conducted follow-up operations at Dei-Dei, Dakwa, and Dan-Tata communities within Kubwa Area of the FCT.”

“These intelligence-led operations led to the arrest” of 22-year-old Saifullahi Yusuf, 24-year-old brother Ishau Yusuf and Minka’ilu Jibril, also known as Dan-Hajia, all from Kaduna State.

The police stated that the first two suspects are biological brothers.

Police said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects “are members of a notorious ‘one-chance’ armed robbery syndicate that has been operating on and off within the FCT for several years, particularly during festive periods.”

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Detailing the circumstances of the killing, the police said that on January 5, 2026, at about 5:50 p.m., Ms Chigbo “unknowingly boarded their black Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, unaware that the occupants were criminals.”

The police added that the suspects “wound up the tinted windows and threatened the victim with weapons in an attempt to force her to pay ransom for her own release.”

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“When she allegedly refused to cooperate, she was physically assaulted and pushed out of the moving vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, resulting in her death,” the police said.

The suspects also allegedly “admitted to dispossessing the victim of her Android mobile phone,” which was sold at Dei-Dei for N120,000.

According to the police, “Minka’ilu Jibril received N30,000, Saifullahi Yusuf received N15,000, while Ishau Yusuf and another suspect currently at large, Musa, shared the remaining amount.”

Items recovered from the suspects include “five scissors, two sharp dagger knives, two knives, one long chain used for restraining victims, and one plier,” which police said “are believed to have been used in the commission of their criminal activities.”

The command said investigations are ongoing and that “intensive efforts are in top gear to apprehend the remaining suspect currently at large, as well as to uncover any additional criminal networks linked to the syndicate.”

Commending the officers involved, the spokesperson Ms Adeh, said the Commissioner of Police Mr Dantawaye “reassures residents of the FCT that the Command remains resolute in its commitment to rid the Territory of criminal elements.”

The police also advised residents “to remain vigilant, avoid boarding unregistered or suspicious vehicles, and promptly report any suspicious activities” through the command’s emergency numbers.