The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, on Wednesday commended Police Intelligence Operatives for the arrest of a wanted murder suspect in the United Kingdom, Jeffery Azuka Okafor aged 23, who fled to Nigeria after the alleged murder of Carl Beatson Asiedu on August 1, 2009 in London.
He was arrested on 23rd September, 2014 in Asaba, Delta State, after a diligent search.
Asiedu, 19, a former student at Selhurst High School for Boys and St Francis Xavier College in Clapham, died in the street after performing a set at Club Life in Vauxhall, south London.
In August Asiedu’s family appealed for help in finding his killer.
His father John Asiedu said: “I still feel the pain and get a lump in my throat whenever his tragic death crosses my mind, or when I hear that someone has been stabbed to death.
“Part of me died with him and I have to carry on living with what is left of me.”
Okafor left the UK for Nigeria in the days after the stabbing, and detectives launched a Facebook appeal to try to find him.
He was last captured on CCTV boarding an Air France flight at Heathrow Airport using his brother’s passport.
A statement by Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Chukwu, on Wednesday said Abba “particularly praised the high level of professionalism displayed by the Police operatives as well as the effective deployment of the Forces’ high tech-equipment in tracking the suspect.”
He added that despite the fugitive’s frequent change of identity and locations, the operatives were still able to keep a tab on him without raising any suspicion.
“All the necessary required procedures to enable the handover of the fugitive to the UK Authorities have already been concluded,” Ojukwu said.
The IGP further assures the International law enforcement communities that the Nigeria Police Force will always ensure that all fugitives that show up in Nigeria would be apprehended upon request and turned over accordingly.
