The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three suspected members of a notorious “one-chance” armed robbery syndicate in connection with the murder of a legal practitioner, Barrister Princess Chigbo Nwamaka Mediatrix, in Abuja.
The arrests followed directives by the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Miller Dantawaye, to ensure that all those involved in the killing and similar violent crimes within the territory are identified and brought to justice.
Police said operatives of the Command’s Scorpion Squad, led by ACP Victor Ogbeide Godfrey, carried out intelligence-led operations between January 5 and 10, 2026, using digital reconstruction techniques to track the victim’s mobile phone. The follow-up operations were conducted in Dei-Dei, Dakwa and Dan-Tata communities within the Kubwa area of the FCT.
Those arrested were identified as Saifullahi Yusuf, 22; Ishau Yusuf, 24—both brothers from Kaduna State and residents of Dan-Tata, Dei-Dei—and Minka’ilu Jibril, also known as Dan-Hajia, also from Kaduna State.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects are members of a long-running “one-chance” robbery gang that operates intermittently across the FCT, particularly during festive periods. Police alleged that on January 5, 2026, at about 5:50 p.m., the victim boarded a black Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle along the Kubwa Expressway, unaware that its occupants were criminals.
According to investigators, the suspects wound up the vehicle’s tinted windows, threatened the victim with weapons and attempted to extort ransom from her. When she allegedly resisted, she was assaulted and pushed out of the moving vehicle along the expressway, sustaining fatal injuries.
Police said the suspects admitted to dispossessing the victim of her Android mobile phone, which was later sold in Dei-Dei for ₦120,000. Investigators disclosed that Minka’ilu Jibril received ₦30,000, Saifullahi Yusuf ₦15,000, while Ishau Yusuf and another suspect, identified as Musa and currently at large, shared the remaining sum.
Items recovered from the suspects included five scissors, two daggers, two knives, a long chain allegedly used to restrain victims, and a plier. The exhibits are believed to have been used in the gang’s criminal operations.
The police said investigations are ongoing and efforts are being intensified to apprehend the fleeing suspect and dismantle any wider criminal network linked to the syndicate.
Commending the operatives for their professionalism, CP Dantawaye reassured residents of the FCT of the Command’s resolve to rid the territory of criminal elements. He also advised members of the public to remain vigilant, avoid boarding unregistered or suspicious vehicles, and promptly report suspicious activities through the Command’s emergency numbers: 08032003913 and 07057337653.
