ABOUT one month and three days  after the lifeless body of a naval officer, Solomon Derikoma, was found in his room  at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State, his suspected killer has been arrested, The ICIR can report.

Derikoma, a Lieutenant Commander in the Nigeria Navy was found dead days before he was scheduled to travel with some of his colleagues for an African study tour.

A military source told The ICIR that the suspect was the late naval officer’s domestic staff.

“The murderer that killed Lt Commander on Senior Course AFCSC Jaji has been arrested,” the source said. “It turned out to be the boy working for him.”

He said the knife with which he allegedly murdered the naval officer was traced to the house he lives with his parents.

The suspect is said to be the son of a plumber who is on temporary employment at AFCSC.

“He is already under lock and key with his parents and has been singing like canary. He confessed being a cult member which operates around Jaji which he joined some six years ago. Very sad,” the source revealed.

The ICIR had reported that the late officer  was a member of the 53rd Regular Course of the Nigeria Navy and hails from Rivers State.

Derikoma’s classmates noticed that he was absent during parade so they went to check on him in his room and found that the door was locked with a padlock from outside indicating that there was no one in the room.

“However, the padlock was broken and the officer’s body was found in the room with a stone by the side and in a pool of blood, suggesting that he was possibly murdered,” the source said, adding that “the body has also started decomposing, which means it happened anytime from Friday”.

Derikoma’s colleagues still went ahead with the study tour but the source says officers on the ground were handling the situation.