The prime suspect in the killing of University of Jos graduate, Ibrahim Pilasar Mbaya, popularly known as Ibee, has admitted striking the deceased three times with a wooden plank, as four suspects recounted their roles during police interrogation.
The suspects spoke during an interrogation by the Plateau State Police Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Alfred Alobo, in a video shared by Manari TV on Tuesday.
Mbaya, a Political Science graduate awaiting mobilization for the National Youth Service Corps, allegedly died after he was accused of stealing an iPhone 12.
Speaking first during the interrogation, Emmanuel Newyear, 30, who was earlier identified by the police as the principal suspect captured in a viral video assaulting the deceased with a wooden plank, admitted attacking Mbaya.
“I was the one that hit him with the plank three times,” he said. Newyear claimed he slapped Mbaya before striking him with the plank because he believed the victim was withholding information about the missing phone.
According to him, Mbaya allegedly mentioned three different locations where the phone was hidden, prompting them to search the areas.
He, however, said the searches yielded nothing. “He first told me the phone was in Angwan. Later, he mentioned… another place. We searched everywhere but didn’t find the phone,” he said.
Newyear further claimed that after returning from the unsuccessful search, he instructed others not to assault Mbaya while he left to rest.
“When I came back after about one or two hours, there was already a crowd. I saw they had barbed his hair, and it was as if he had been hanged,” he said.
The owner of the missing phone, Rinji Daniel Fwanji, 25, also narrated how Mbaya allegedly came to spend the night at his residence after they returned from an event in the early hours of July 26.
Daniel said he woke up around 4 a.m. to discover that both Mbaya and his iPhone 12 were missing. He told investigators that repeated calls to Mbaya went unanswered until another person’s phone was used to reach him, after which he agreed to return.
He alleged that Mbaya had previously taken items from him, insisting he initially intended to report the matter through legal means.
“I even told him I would involve a lawyer because I was tired of all these things,” Daniel said. Asked who first assaulted Mbaya, Daniel replied, “It was Emmanuel.”
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He also confirmed that the missing phone had still not been recovered. Another suspect, Joshua Tell, claimed he knew those who allegedly hung Mbaya, admitting that his own role was to help restrain the deceased while he was being tied.
“I only participated in holding his legs when they were tying him. Yes, that was my role,” he said. Nensemka Fwanji, Daniel’s brother, admitted witnessing the assault and said he later rushed Mbaya to the hospital after realizing the severity of his injuries.
“When I came back to the room, I saw he had been beaten mercilessly. I was the one that took him to the hospital,” he said. Asked during the interrogation whether the missing phone had been recovered, he replied, “No, sir.”
Meanwhile, the deceased’s younger sister has demanded justice for her brother, insisting that those responsible for his death should face the full weight of the law, according to Vanguard.
“We want justice. Those who took the law into their hands should also face the consequences of the law. We want them to answer for what they did to my brother,” she said.
Describing Mbaya as peaceful and hardworking, she said she never knew him to be involved in theft.
“This is somebody I grew up with. Throughout our lives together, I never heard anyone accuse him of stealing another person’s property.
“He respected everyone and never fought with people. He worked hard to make a better life for himself and was always there for the family whenever he was needed.
“Even those who killed him knew he was a good person. It is painful that such an innocent person lost his life in this manner,” she added.
The Plateau State Police Command had on Monday announced the arrest of Emmanuel Newyear, Rinji Daniel Fwanji and Nensemka Fwanji over the incident before subsequently confirming Joshua Tell as the fourth suspect in custody.
Police spokesperson, Alabo, said preliminary investigation showed that Mbaya was accused of stealing an iPhone 12 but was allegedly attacked instead of being handed over to law enforcement authorities.
According to the police, the suspects allegedly beat Mbaya until he became unconscious before taking him to the Jos University Teaching Hospital, where he was confirmed dead on arrival.
The command said two other suspects linked to the incident remain at large, adding that efforts were ongoing to apprehend them, while those already arrested would be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
The killing has continued to attract widespread condemnation, with the National Association of Nigerian Students, civil society organizations, students and residents calling for justice for Mbaya and urging authorities to ensure all those responsible are prosecuted.
