- The FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba, paraded the suspects before journalists in Abuja
- The suspects allegedly ordered a Bolt ride to buy Indian hemp but had no money to pay for it upon return
- To deceive the driver, they showed him a fake debit alert on their phone
Three students of Bingham University in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, who were recently arrested in connection with a murder case, had previously been suspended from the institution, according to a statement released by the University’s Director of Public Affairs, Daburi Misal, on Tuesday.
The Director explained that the alleged killing took place after the suspects had been suspended from the university due to drug abuse.
The statement was issued in response to widespread social media reports about the suspects’ arrest by the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.
He said, “The management of Bingham University hereby expresses its profound sadness over the development and states that the affected students were in March 2023 identified through the university’s zero-tolerance policy on drugs and suspended from the university for being in possession of marijuana and other illicit substances.
“As required by our regulations, the students should have been taken to a rehabilitation centre by their guardians and taken back to the university only after their certification by the university’s psychiatrist.
“It was therefore shocking to see that the students who were supposed to be in rehabilitation were being paraded by the police in Abuja.
“The university however pledges its full cooperation with the police in their investigation into the matter while expressing its deepest sympathy to the family of the deceased.”
Last Thursday, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba, presented the suspects – Obasieyene Inem, Aaron Anthony, and Alasan Olusegun – before journalists in Abuja, alleging their involvement in the murder of a Bolt driver.
According to Garba, one of the suspects had used the Bolt App to request a ride, intending to go to a location where they purchased Indian hemp. After the ride, when they returned to the original pickup point, the suspects realized they had no money to pay the driver. To deceive the driver, they resorted to displaying a fabricated debit alert on their phone.
He said, “On June 5, 2023, around 8.30 pm, one Obasi Okeke was discovered lying in his pool of blood with a slit throat at Ngugu Close Area 11 Garki, Abuja.
“The painstaking investigation to ascertain those behind this dastardly act led to the arrest of the three suspects namely Obasieyene Inem, Aaron Anthony and Alasan Olusegun.
“In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the deceased was a Bolt driver who was called by one of the suspects to convey them to the Guzape Area of Abuja where they had visited to buy Indian hemp. Back from Guzape to their take-off point, they discovered they had no money to pay for their trip, so they decided to play a fast one by showing the deceased a fake debit alert on their phone.”
He added that the Bolt driver’s insistence that he had not seen the alert resulted in an argument.
Garba said one of the suspects slit the Bolt driver’s throat.
“The deceased insisted he had not received any alert. In the ensuing argument, one of the suspects slit the deceased’s throat and fled the scene. The three suspects have since confessed to the crime and will be charged soon,” he added.