- By Halimah Olamide
A mechanic, Jonathan Marcus, has been arrested over the gruesome murder of an elderly couple at their residence at Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja.
Marcus, who often worked as chauffeur to the deceased, Adebola Ezekiel, (80) and his wife, Abiodun Ezekiel (79), was among several suspects paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory Command, Benneth Igweh, during a press conference on Friday.
Igweh revealed that the police began an investigation immediately after the incident occurred on March 31, 2024, and were able to arrest the suspect, a former driver to the deceased couple.
He noted that policemen trailed the suspect and arrested him in his hideout in Obajana, Kogi State.
Igwe claimed that the suspect had freely confessed to having gained access to the house on the same date, slit the throats of the couples and made away with their phones and automated teller machine cards.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police also revealed that the command, on April 11, 2024, arrested another two suspects, for alleged culpable homicide in the Mabushi area of Abuja.
Igweh said the suspects were arrested by policemen from the Mabushi division following a tip-off that the corpse of one Bilkisu Mohammed was being discreetly conveyed.
He said, “The deceased had earlier visited the house of her supposed boyfriend, who eventually travelled to Kano and left her in the care of the female suspect.
The deceased allegedly fell ill and was given non-prescribed drugs that led to her death by the male suspect who came into the house on the invitation of the female suspect.”
He said the suspects were currently in police custody, undergoing interrogation.
Igweh further disclosed that the Utako division, in a well-coordinated operation on April 6, 2024, arrested nine suspected armed robbers.
The CP said the suspects, during interrogation, freely confessed to being part of an armed robbery gang responsible for a series of robberies and other heinous crimes in the FCT.
He said four locally fabricated AK 47 rifles, three locally fabricated cartridge rifles, one English pistol, and one Dane gun were recovered from the suspects.
Other items recovered from the suspects were three live rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, one live round of 5.56mm ammunition, and an empty cartridge.
The CP said all the suspects would be charged in court upon the conclusion of the investigation.