The Plateau State Police Command says six persons were directly involved in the alleged mob torture and killing of University of Jos graduate and model, Ibrahim Mbaya, popularly known as “Ibee”, with four suspects already arrested and two others still on the run.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Alfred Alabo, disclosed this while parading the four suspects in Jos on Tuesday. He said detectives were intensifying efforts to apprehend the remaining suspects.
According to Alabo, the police received information from a Good Samaritan that a young man had been taken to hospital in critical condition after a brutal assault.
The victim later died from injuries sustained during the attack, prompting detectives to launch an intensive investigation.
He said three suspects were initially arrested and confessed to their various roles during interrogation. Another suspect was later apprehended, bringing the total number of suspects in custody to four.
Alabo revealed that investigations had established that six people were directly involved in the incident and assured that efforts were ongoing to arrest the remaining two suspects.
He identified one of the key suspects as Emmanuel Newyear, alleging that he was seen actively assaulting the deceased with a wooden plank during the attack.
Another suspect, Joshua Tell, was also arrested as the investigation progressed.
The police spokesman added that preliminary findings indicated the suspects shared a common background linked to the same educational institution, prompting collaboration with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
He said the command had been working closely with NANS to ensure that everyone connected to the crime was identified and brought to justice.
Officials of the student body attended the parade to demonstrate their condemnation of the incident and support the ongoing investigation.
Alabo reiterated the command’s commitment to ensuring justice for the deceased and warned members of the public against taking the law into their own hands.
He urged anyone with useful information that could assist the investigation to come forward, assuring them that such information would be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
The killing of Mbaya has sparked widespread outrage in Jos, with residents and civil society organisations calling for justice and stronger action against mob violence across Plateau State.
