Nigerian fugitive wanted over murder of student extradited from Qatar

Published: 20 April 2025

Benjamin Best relocated to Doha in January 24 this year using a fraudulent Guinean passport and was traced through the use of advanced biometrics

NT Bureau
Doha

The Nigeria Police Force has said Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, otherwise known as “Killaboi,” was on Saturday, extradited from Doha, over the murder of 21-year-old Augusta Onuwabhagbe, a Nigerian student, in 2023, Nigerian media reported.

Nigerian police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement the suspect who had been on the run since the murder in Lagos State, was extradited following a joint effort with the Federal Ministry of Justice; INTERPOL National Central Bureau, Abuja; and the judicial authorities in Qatar, The Peoples Gazette said in a report.

Adejobi said, “The Nigeria Police Force has successfully completed the extradition of Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, male, widely known as “Killaboi,” from Doha, Qatar to Nigeria. The fugitive, who had been on the run for the murder of Miss Augusta Oseodion Onuwabhagbe, was returned to the country in the early hours of today, Saturday, April 19. 2025, through the coordinated efforts with the Ministry of Justice, INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Force Headquarters Abuja and the Qatari Judicial Authorities.’’
The suspect’s extradition was in response to a petition filed on September 29, 2024, by the late student’s family through their legal representatives, which was later referred to INTERPOL NCB Abuja for investigation.

“Investigations revealed that the suspect, Benjamin Best Nnayereugo, murdered Miss Onuwabhagbe, a 21-year-old first-class student of Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, at his residence located at No. 24A Abiola Apooyi Street, Oral Estate, Ajah, Lagos, on 13th July 2023. After committing the crime, he fled Nigeria and later released an online video purporting to confess to the act, a deceptive strategy to derail investigative efforts,” the police said.

The police stated that the suspect kept evading law enforcement across multiple regions including West Africa, East Asia and the Middle East, under forged identities before he eventually relocated to Doha, on January 24, 2025, with the alias “TOURE ABDOULAYE”, using a fraudulent Guinean passport, before he secured an illegal employment and concealed his identity.

“Through robust international cooperation and the use of advanced biometrics, INTERPOL NCB Abuja, in collaboration with INTERPOL NCB Doha, confirmed his identity, leading to his arrest by Qatari authorities in February 2025. An official extradition request, processed via the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, was subsequently approved by the Qatari judicial authorities, resulting in his repatriation to Nigeria,” the police added.

The fleeing suspect was initially nabbed in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on October 20, 2023, under the false identity “KANU PRINCETON SAMUEL,” but escaped custody during a prison break on November 26, 2023.