Soldier Arrested For Killing, Burying Keke Rider In Borno

Three suspects have been arrested by the Borno State Police Command including a dismissed military officer in connection with the killing of a 20-year-old keke rider simply identified as James.

The incident was said to have occurred within the Maiduguri Metropolis.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, disclosed in a press briefing that the police crackdown on the suspects in Maiduguri yielded the desired result leading to the arrest of the suspect and others have been remanded at the Command.

During the briefing, Daso stated, “A case of culpable homicide was received on the 5th of August at about 20:00 hours. Three suspects chartered Keke Napep and took one James Luka, 20 years of age, who is a driver from the Dubai Area to Shagari Locus”

“The suspects after luring the victims to an unknown location behind Shagari locus, removed a Knife and stabbed him in his stomach which led to his death.”

According to Daso, the assailants buried the body of the victim in a shallow grave.

The PPRO further stated that on August 6, after preliminary investigations, the command in collaboration with other relevant agencies apprehended the suspect, while the body was found and exhumed from the shallow grave where it was buried on Thursday before it was released to the family for proper burial.

Daso used the medium to call on the public, particularly Keke Napep riders, to be vigilant when transporting passengers and, more importantly, avoid lonely areas while picking up or dropping off passengers.

It was further gathered from one of the suspects, Simon Buba who confirmed that he was an ex-soldier of the Nigerian Army that he was dismissed for committing an offence which bordered on “absent without official leave” in February this Year.

Buba said, “I joined the Army in 2022 and was dismissed in February 2024. I am from Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.”

According to him, he and his friend committed the crime with the intention of selling the Keke at the rate of N1.3 million but before the buyer insisted that he wouldn’t buy it unless a receipt was provided.

He confirmed that they were caught by officers of the Nigerian Police while pushing the Keke to a petrol station to refuel it when it ran out of petrol.