Eli Obaje
A suspected killer identified as Abdullahi Usman has been arrested in Nasarawa State after authorities linked him to the murders of Professor Gabriel Saawua Nyityó and his younger brother, John, in neighboring Benue State. The arrest happened just hours after the attack, as Usman allegedly tried to leave the area. 
Security operatives picked him up at an NDLEA checkpoint in Nasarawa. He had boarded an early Thursday commercial bus bound for Lafia, the state capital. According to officials, the timing of his travel raised immediate suspicion because it came shortly after the killings in Benue.
During a routine stop and search, NDLEA officers asked Usman about his trip. He told them he was returning from visiting a relative in Makurdi. But when they searched his bag, they found four Android phones, which didn’t match his story.
Under questioning, Usman insisted that all four devices were his. Investigators soon found that was not true. Only one phone was registered to him. Two others were traced to Professor Nyityó and his brother John. The last one belonged to a neighbor who said he had dropped it at the professor’s house to charge because of a power outage.
The major break came when operatives called a number saved as “MAMA” on one of the recovered phones. The woman who answered explained that her son had taken the phone to the professor’s residence for charging. She added that the home had been attacked, both men were killed, and sympathizers were already at the scene.
With that information, officers detained Usman on the spot. Reports say he later tried to escape from custody, but security personnel restrained him before he could get away. He was then transferred to the appropriate authorities for further investigation.
Preliminary findings have confirmed the ownership of the recovered phones. The devices tied directly to the victims helped place the suspect at the scene and undermined his initial claims about traveling from Makurdi.
Usman is said to be from Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Security agencies say investigations are ongoing to determine the full circumstances behind the murders and to establish any possible motive or accomplices.
