Eight suspects involved in the abduction of Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro have confessed to the crime, revealing details of how the operation was carried out.
The suspects—six men and two women—were paraded on Thursday in Yenagoa by security agencies led by Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu, and the State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adedapo Amao. The DSS, which coordinated the rescue, confirmed that the suspects are in custody while their gang leader remains at large.
Governor Douye Diri had announced during Wednesday’s State Executive Council meeting that all suspects had been apprehended except the ring leader.
Speaking during the parade, one of the suspects, Justice Brodrick, from Ozobo community in Delta State, confessed that he joined the kidnap after his boss contacted him.
“So, he called me on June 21 that I should come to Yenagoa. He also called John Uzi, the person that is beside me. And I called Kelvin Olu, my younger brother, to come with me to Bayelsa. We mobilized the vehicle for the movement and uniforms were provided,” Brodrick said.
He disclosed that the gang had no specific target but stumbled on the judge at Kilimanjaro eatery in the Ekeki area of Yenagoa before abducting him and moving him to a camp in a neighboring state.
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Brodrick added that when the victim revealed he was an Ijaw man from Ekeremor Local Government Area, he appealed to their leader to treat him well, despite the leader’s insistence on keeping him in handcuffs.
Another suspect, identified as John, claimed he was contacted but did not join the operation due to illness, though he admitted being at the camp after the abduction.
Commissioner Idu hailed the arrest as a breakthrough in Bayelsa’s security efforts, attributing the success to the synergy among security agencies and Governor Diri’s support.
“The DSS deployed a special team from Abuja for this operation. With the CCTV cameras installed across Yenagoa and other areas by the state government, tracking and arresting these suspects was possible,” Idu said.
He warned that Bayelsa is no longer a safe haven for criminals, stressing that anyone with criminal intent should reconsider.