Badeh: No political undertone in murder of former CDS – Panel

The 27-member joint committee that investigated the murder of former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd), on December 18 2018, on Wednesday, said contrary to insinuations, there was no political undertone.

Chairman of the committee, Major-General Bamidele Shafa, who made the outcome of the investigation public, while parading 15 suspects allegedly involved in the criminal act, said the security agents were still hunting for five other suspects

He said the officers attached to the former CDS were also arrested during the investigation but had been released to their various services for disciplinary action for negligence and omission while on duty.

Following the murder of Badeh, on December 18, 2018, the current Chief of Defence Staff General, Abayomi Olonisakin, constituted a joint investigation panel that comprised lawyers, officers of the army, air force, Defence Intelligence Headquarters, Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services(DSS).

The committee’s terms of reference were to ascertain the circumstances leading to the attack and death of Badeh, as well as identify and apprehend the persons involved in the attack and killing of the former CDS; recover property connected to the case and make appropriate findings and recommendations as necessary

General Shafa said the suspects were categorised into key suspects, circumstantial ones and accomplices.

According to him, the committee interviewed 36 suspects, visited the scene of the incident, searched the suspects’ homes, where one AK-47 rifle, one dane gun and other dangerous items were recovered.

It also conducted ballistic examination of assorted firearms, verified associated bank account and conducted autopsy examination of the deceased

The chairman of the committee said after thorough investigations, the panel discovered that the attack and killing of Badeh was criminal and without any political colouration

Consequently, the panel discovered that 20 persons were involved in the crime out of which 15 had been arrested, while the remaining suspects were ostensibly still at large.

He gave the names of the suspects as Aliyu Usman (aka) Chiroma (35) and the ring leader; Shuaibu Rabo, Yahaya Nuhu, Musa Muhammed aka Alhaji Lamido Tahara; Ibrahim Abdullahi (aka) Baba and Jibrin Ibrahim, 51.

General Shafa noted that aside from killing the Air Chief Marshal, the suspects also admitted that they kidnapped Joseph Okpetu, who was later released after the payment of N2 million ransom.