On Monday, February 17, 2020, Ms Laetitia Naankang-Dagan, an Assistant Director at the State House, Abuja was gruesomely murdered in her house. Ms Dagan was killed shortly after closing from work and returning to her home in EFAB City Estate, Lokogoma, by unidentified assailants.
According to reports, the deceased, who was living alone in the apartment, was found tied to her bed naked on a mattress that was burning, which meant the killers wanted to burn the corpse.
The Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr Jalal Arabi, described Ms Dagan as a dedicated and hardworking officer.
“We all share in your grief and pains, but be consoled by the fact that she lived a good life and contributed her best to the services of her nation,” Arabi told her family members during a condolence visit.
But more disturbing are the unconfirmed reports that the deceased was suspected to have been murdered by a group of young boys whose activities she had reported to the police in the area. The young men were said to be her neighbours whose activities she was not comfortable with.
According to the reports, the police had arrested the suspects but later released them. It was strongly believed that information about the report was leaked to the suspects who decided to exert their revenge on the unsuspecting woman.
The police are yet to confirm or deny the insinuations. According to the spokesman of the FCT Police Command, DSP Anjuguri Mamza, preliminary investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department of the command had led to the arrest of one Edirin Ohonre.
He said the suspect was assisting police detectives with information that would lead to the arrest of other suspects connected to the crime who are now at large.
He assured the public that the command is set to unravel the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death, arrest and prosecute those behind the heinous act.
Mamza told members of the public “to disregard insinuations making the rounds on some social media platforms” and also appealed to “members of the public to desist from pre-empting the ongoing police investigation’’.
This statement said there was the erroneous belief among the public that the police, or somebody who knew what happened, had leaked the report lodged by Ms Dagan against the young men at the police station.
The implication of leaving this matter unresolved is quite dangerous to the effective crime prevention and arrest of criminals by the police. Often, the police and other law enforcement agencies solicit for information about criminals and criminal activities from the public. There have also been numerous accusations that people who volunteered such information often found themselves in trouble with the criminals.
We believe that this is an opportunity for the police to prove this notion wrong. We strongly advise that thorough investigation be conducted to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of Ms Dagan. Where it is found that any law enforcement officer betrayed the trust of the public by divulging such sensitive information that led to the death of an innocent person, the full wrath of the law must be applied.
We cannot afford, at a time that our law enforcement agents need the cooperation of all Nigerians to halt our numerous security challenges, to allow the selfishness or carelessness of an officer of the law to jeopardise the interest of the country. The police would further regain the confidence of the public if the outcome of the investigation is published without delay.
