ADELOWO OLADIPO, Lagos - 28.08.2006

Nigerian Tribune gathered at the weekend that the failure of the British Police to return to the police authorities in Nigeria samples of the fingerprints lifted and medical examinations conducted on the remains of the late Williams might have made it impossible for the IG to announce his findings until now.

A reliable police source told the Nigerian Tribune that the large number of people whose finger and footprints were taken at the time and the perceived sensitivity of the matter might be the reason why the British police were yet to send their report.

The source noted that the inability of the police authorities in Nigeria in conjunction with the Federal Government to modernise their forensic equipment, which it described as outdated, necessitated the invitation to the British police.

The source said: “We still use binoculars in our forensic and fingerprints department at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos.”

The source assured Nigerians that the police would leave no stone unturned in unmasking the killers of Engineer Williams. Further checks have revealed that all the case files relating to the murder of Williams had been transferred to the office of the Inspector General of Police.

The source disclosed that some of the arrested suspects were still being detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department. “Those released, like politicians and the Director General of the National Maritime Authority, Engineer Festus Ugwu, had their international passports seized by the police, with an instruction to them that they should be reporting to F.C.I.D. Alagbon, Ikoyi, periodically pending when the case would be disposed of,” the source added.