The Benue State Police Command has arrested a suspect in connection with the gruesome killing of a university lecturer, Prof. Gabriel Saawua Nyityo, and his younger brother, Iorngee John Nyityo, following a deadly attack at their residence in Makurdi.
Prof. Nyityo, a lecturer in the Department of History at Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi (formerly Benue State University), and his 19-year-old brother were shot dead by gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday at their home around the Adaka community.
Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, said operatives of the Delta Patrol Team, working alongside Operation Python personnel, discovered the victims after responding to a distress call from the area.
According to her, “The team of Delta Patrol alongside Python, while on patrol, received a distress call along the Adaka axis. On getting there, they saw two dead bodies killed by some unknown gunmen. One Prof. Gabriel Saawua Nyityo, male, 58 years, and his younger brother, Iorngee John Nyityo, male, 19 years.”
Edet disclosed that police investigations had already yielded results, leading to the arrest of one suspect, identified as an indigene of Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
She, however, noted that efforts were ongoing to apprehend other members of the gang involved in the attack.
“Investigation is still ongoing to get the remaining suspects,” the police spokesperson said, assuring that more details would be released as the investigation progresses.
Meanwhile, a senior executive of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the institution disclosed that the attackers reportedly forced their way into the victims’ residence through a window before carrying out the deadly attack and fleeing the scene.
The killing of the respected academic has continued to generate widespread outrage, with colleagues, students and residents calling for justice and urging security agencies to ensure that all those responsible are brought to book.
