The Joint Investigative Panel includes representatives of the Defence Headquarters, the police and the Department of State Services.

The 15 suspects according to Punch, were paraded at the Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja.

The suspects confessed to the killing of the former Chief of Defence Staff adding that they collected N2m before releasing Badeh’s friend, Joseph Okpetu, who was kidnapped after Badeh was killed.

The 51-year-old Jibrin was said to have owned the SIM cards used in negotiating the ransom for Okpetu.

According to Punch, five of the suspects apart from Jubrin were identified as Aliyu Usman, Shuaibu Rabo, Yahaya Nuhu, Musa Muhammed and Ibrahim Abdullahi. They were all arrested by the panel set up by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin.

In December 2018, the police had earlier paraded five suspects, all of who were among the 15 suspects paraded with two AK-47 rifles, two locally-made guns and other weapons allegedly recovered from them.

Recall that Badeh was gunned down by gunmen while returning from his farm along the Abuja-Keffi Expressway in Nasarawa State on December 18, 2018.

One of the suspects, Usman, who is said to be the gang leader confessed that seven of them attacked Badeh saying they assumed he was a wealthy man and not a retired military officer.

“It was a Friday and I came to the Gitata Market; I was the one who brought the job to the gang. I am a taxi driver. So, while I was driving to Panda village, in Nasarawa State, one Alhaji Maube Gani told me that there was one wealthy man, who owned a farm in that area and that we could make money from him. I told him I had never attacked any person in my life, but he said I should not worry.

“Then later on December 18, I drove my car out and Alhaji called me that the man had come to his farm as usual and that we should come to attack him. So, I called the other members and we met Alhaji in the Gitata area.

“At that stage of the operation, I did not know Badeh’s identity; none of us knew that the man was a military officer. There were seven of us, who participated in the operation. We just got to the road, shot the man and took away his friend,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Bamidele Shafa, the Chairman of the Joint Investigation Committee said that 20 suspects have so far been identified but only 15 have been arrested.

“After thorough investigation, the panel made the following findings; one, the attack and killing of ACM Alex Badeh was criminal and did not have any political undertone. Two, 20 persons were involved in the crime, out of which 15 have been arrested.

“The suspects in custody confessed to their direct involvement in the crime. They employed automatic weapons and locally-made guns in the killing of the air chief marshal. This was buttressed by the result of the autopsy and weapons recovered from the residences of the suspects.

“The suspects will be handed over to the appropriate agency for investigation and prosecution.”

Alex Badeh the Chief of Defence Staff between January 2014 and July 2015. He also served as the Chief of Air Staff between October 2012 and January 2014.