SAHARA REPORTERS
A Nigerian, Best Nnanyereugo Benjamin, who was declared wanted by the Nigerian Police Force for alleged murder of Miss Augusta Oseodion Onuwabhagbe, an undergraduate of Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State has been arrested in Sierra Leone.
SaharaReporters reliably gathered that the Benjamin who was declared wanted by the Lagos State Police Command on October 10, 2023 following the killing of his alleged girlfriend on July 13, 2023 and disappeared was arrested at a club in Freetown by Sierra Leonean police on Friday.
A source, who shared the information of the arrest with SaharaReporters on Saturday morning, said that the suspect is currently being detained at the Freetown while awaiting extradition to Nigeria to face his crime.
The suspect, according to the source, after murdering the university undergraduate went at large with her phone.
“The suspect has been active on his social media handles since he ran out of the country to escape arrest.”
The source, however, added, that a good Samaritan in Sierra Leone who noticed the activities of the suspect on social media contacted the mother of the deceased and informed her of the development. “The mother reached out to her lawyer, Chief Femi Falana (SAN) who assisted the family to contact the Sierra Leonean police authorities.
“When it was confirmed that he had fled the country the Lagos State Police commissioner, Mr Idowu Ohonbunwa directed the Lagos State Police Command to declare him wanted. Best was declared wanted on October 10, 2023.
“The Sierra Leonean police immediately commenced a manhunt for Best Nnanyereugo Benjamin. The mother of the deceased dispatched a family member to Freetown who was able to work with the police,” he stated
The source added, “Luck however, ran out of the suspect and he was arrested yesterday at a club in Freetown and is currently being detained to await extradition.
“The suspect had changed his name to Kanu Princeton Samuel and secured a Sierra Leonean passport on the 28th July 2023, 15 days after he had murdered Augusta.”
According to the source, Augusta was 21, when she was gruesomely killed by the suspect who claimed to be a real estate executive.
