Killing of 7 policemen in Abuja: Disquiet over prolonged Police silence

The prolonged silence of the Police on the extent of its investigation of the murder of seven of its men at Galadimawa Round-about in the heart of the city, just 500 metres away from the popular Umar Musa Yar’Adua Way leading to the airport is causing disquiet among residents and certain quarters in the Federal Capital Territory.
The famous Round-about, which is a just a little less than two kilometres from the National Stadium and the Games Village is a central location of residents in many privately-owned estates, as well as a stone-throw from the National Judicial Institute where all categories of judges are trained; but its peace was shattered less than five weeks ago when gunshots rang out one night at about 8:00 p.m.
Traders and committers ran helter-skelter as the shots rang out from the Police post there. When the dust settled, seven policemen lay dead, shot at point-blank range.
Arrests were made and a special investigation team set up.
Amidst speculations that a headway has been made with the arrest of some vital suspects, including a police inspector posted to one of the contiguous States to Abuja; Abuja Police spokesman, Anjuguri Manzah, declined comments other than to say he was not aware it was an insider job with a policeman involved.
Reminded that the information was been shared on social media platforms by an exclusive audience, he sought further information from our reporter.
One source said other “serving or retired” security personnel is assisting the Police in its investigations.
It was learnt that firearms stolen from the shot policemen was the target of the killers, because they were procured for sale to an interested party in the black market.
Exactly a month ago and four days after the killing of the policemen, the then Police Commissioner for Abuja, Sadiq Bello, issued a statement on the strange killings. He said: “Residents of the FCT are aware of the recent security breach in the City that occurred on 2nd July, 2018 which claimed the lives of seven (7) Policemen at an Observation Post by Galadimawa Roundabout. It is unfortunate that some criminals find it expedient to attack Policemen that are on duty to protect lives and property. These men have paid the supreme sacrifice in the service of their Father Land, may their souls rest in peace.
“This dastardly act will not deter the Police from performing its duties as enshrined in the Constitution, as such we are calling on members of the public to partner with the Police in order to solve these security challenges in the FCT. This they can do by obliging us with the necessary information that could lead to the arrest of the criminals. We owe it a duty to arrest these criminals in order to assuage the souls of these young men so that they don’t die in vain.
“Investigation is on, we are leaving no stone unturned and by the grace of God, we shall succeed, these bad elements will be exposed for the whole world to see. The circumstances surrounding the incident is still very sketchy, however, we want to assure members of the public that we will do whatever is necessary to unravel the mystery surrounding the incident.
About the same time, Force Police spokesman, Acting Deputy Commissioner Jimoh Moshood, announced that five suspects had been arrested in connection with the death of the seven policemen.
His words: “As I speak with you, five arrests have been made in respect of the attacks and more arrests are being  made.
“We will ensure that all the perpetrators that were involved in this heinous crime are apprehended”.
Since then residents have wondered why the Police went into a silent mode, even while speculations were rife that they were doing so because security operatives were allegedly involved.