The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three suspects linked to the 2024 murder of Liberty Radio staff, Mr. Azubuko Nwakama, following more than a year of sustained investigation and digital tracking.
Nwakama was attacked and robbed on June 14, 2024, at Panteka Market in Mpape, Abuja. According to police, his assailants stabbed him before making away with his mobile phone and other valuables. The case initially proved difficult to crack as the stolen phone remained switched off for over a year, thwarting early tracking efforts.
Detectives from the Mpape Division, however, kept the investigation open, monitoring for any sign of activity linked to the stolen device. The breakthrough came on August 2, 2025, when the victim’s Redmi 13C phone was switched on. Officers immediately traced it to Mutari Lawal, 32, from Kano State, who was swiftly apprehended.
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Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said Lawal confessed to attacking and stabbing Nwakama, naming two accomplices — Dan’Asabe Ibrahim, 22, from Zamfara State, and Danjuma Ibrahim, 18, both of no fixed address in Mpape.
“Mutari revealed that after the crime, he travelled to Kano with the stolen phone, kept it switched off for a year, and only powered it on in August 2025 to wipe data, insert his SIM card, and return to Abuja,” Adeh stated.
FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao S. Adewale, praised the “diligence, resilience, and professionalism” of the officers involved, noting that justice prevailed despite the passage of time.
He warned criminal elements in the FCT to “repent or relocate,” stressing that “the long arm of the law, which is patient, persistent, and resolute, will definitely catch up with them.”
The Command urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities through its emergency lines, 08032003913 and 08028940883, assuring that the safety of Abuja residents remains its top priority.
