Bayelsa Judge Kidnapped at Eatery: Suspects Give Shocking Account

The suspected abductors of Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro, a judge of the Bayelsa High Court, have described how they took him from a restaurant in Yenagoa and transported him to a neighboring state.
The director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adedapo Amao, and the commissioner of police for Bayelsa State, Francis Idu, paraded the eight suspects—six of whom were men and two of whom were women—in Yenagoa on Thursday, according to reports.
According to reports, the suspects confessed to the crime during their parade and are currently being held by the DSS.

One of the main suspects, Justice Brodrick, a native of Delta State’s Ozobo town, acknowledged that he participated in the kidnapping after receiving a call from a man he identified as his boss.

Thus, on June 21, he called to invite me to Yenagoa. Additionally, he called John Uzi, who is standing next to me. In order to accompany him to Bayelsa, I phoned my younger brother, Kelvin Olu,” Brodrick informed reporters.

He clarified that clothes and a mission vehicle were given to them upon arrival in Bayelsa.

“We moved out of our camp, but it wasn’t a fixed target,” he stated. At Kilimanjaro (a restaurant), we were just patrolling when we ran into the judge. From there, we abducted him and brought him to our camp.

When they kidnapped their victim, Brodrick claims they had no idea he was a judge. But when they learned that he was from the Ekeremor Local Government Area, they made the decision to treat him with some respect.

“When he revealed that he is Ijaw, our leader, whom we refer to as the ‘General,’ insisted that he be kept in handcuffs while still being treated as one of our own,” he said.

Although he was in the camp when the judge was introduced, another suspect, John, who was also paraded, stated he was not involved in the actual operation because of his poor health.

The governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, had earlier stated at the State Executive Council meeting on Wednesday that everyone engaged in the kidnapping had been taken into custody, with the exception of the gang leader, who is still active.

The Department of State Services, which sent a special operations team from Abuja, was instrumental in the arrest, according to Commissioner of Police Francis Idu, who credited the arrest to successful interagency cooperation.

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He praised Governor Diri for supplying the logistics that made the rescue possible and for installing CCTV cameras in key locations throughout the state, which helped with the operation.

“His Excellency, Governor Douye Diri’s security governance strategy is demonstrated by the arrest of these suspects,” Idu stated.

“He has consistently emphasized the necessity of security agencies working together, and this case demonstrates that Bayelsa is no longer a safe place for criminals to operate.”

Additionally, the police head sent out a strong warning to anyone planning a crime in the state.