From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
Operatives of the newly established Inspector General of Police(IGP) Violent Crime Response Unit of the Bayelsà State Police command have arrested a Key suspect in the last year abduction of a State High Court Judge, Justice E.G Omukoro at a popular eatery in Yenagoa the State capital.
The arrested suspect, according to Police and Judiciary sources, was identified as 39 years Ogbonna-Otu Emizibo Dennis, Popularly known as Ogbono and is an Indigenes of Ekeremor Local Government council area of the State.
Intelligence officers were mounted around his residence for over five months till his return. He was said to have been identified by Justice E.G Omukoro during suspect parade.
The suspect claimed the white Hilux in his possession was returned to the owner who is a retired Brigadier General after the driving job was concluded. But a close family member punctured the claim by alleging that he was in possession of the white Hilux at the reported time of the alleged abduction.
Investigations also revealed that the suspect, Ogbonna-Otu Emizibo Dennis, was the owner of the White Hilux used by the kidnapping gang in the abduction of the Judge.
He was also identified as the owner of the house located along the school road in Edepie, where the kidnap gang allegedly used as the planning base for the abduction of one Aladei God save,owner of the Ruth more Hotel and the State High Court Judge.
The arresting officers led by Commander Chris Nwaogbo and his team also recovered the motorcycle owned by one of the kidnappers in his compound.
The Motorcycle, allegedly owned by dismissed and declared wanted Police Sergeant Obrientele Ebiarede ,was reportedly used to procure food and other items for their victims at their Camp at Orkaki bush, a boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa State.
A senior Police officer from the State Polic Command attributed the successes recorded to the persistent support of the State Commissioner of Police, CP Iyamah Daniel Edebor and the Inspector General of Police,Olatunji Rilwan Disu on diligent investigation and policing.
Our correspondent gathered that the investigating team of Operation Puff Adder, now Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), led by CSP Chris Nwaogbo, has concluded investigation and handed the case file to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) of the State Judiciary.
Source from the Ministry of Justice, confirmed to our correspondent, that the Police Investigation team, among other recommendations, proposed that the State Government should invoke section 7 of the State Kidnapping and allied offences Law,2013 for temporary forfeiture of the Suspect’s house pending the outcome of prosecution.
Justice E. G. Omukoro, a Bayelsa State High Court judge, was kidnapped by masked gunmen in Yenagoa on June 21, 2025, and held for 12 days before being released unharmed on July 3, 2025.
Justice Omukoro was taken on Saturday evening, June 21, 2025, after suspects blocked his car with a white Hilux van.
Recall that multiple suspects were arrested, including in the Ekeremor area, and some confessed to stumbling upon the judge rather than targeting him specifically, though they held him in captivity for nearly two weeks.
