Operatives of the newly established Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) of the Bayelsa State Police Command have arrested another key suspect linked to the abduction of a Bayelsa State High Court Judge, Justice E.G. Omukoro.
The suspect was arrested at a popular eatery in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
According to police and judiciary sources, the suspect was identified as 39-year-old Ogbonna-Otu Emizibo Dennis, popularly known as “Ogbono,” an indigene of Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.
Sources disclosed that intelligence operatives mounted surveillance around his residence for over five months before his eventual arrest upon his return. He was also reportedly identified by Justice E.G. Omukoro during a suspect parade.
The suspect allegedly claimed that the white Hilux vehicle in his possession had been returned to its owner, said to be a retired Brigadier-General, after the completion of a driving assignment. However, a close family source reportedly contradicted the claim, alleging that the suspect was still in possession of the vehicle at the time of the abduction.
Investigations further revealed that Ogbonna-Otu Emizibo Dennis allegedly owned the white Hilux van used by the kidnapping gang during the abduction of the judge.
He was also identified as the owner of a house located along School Road in Edepie, which the kidnappers allegedly used as a planning base for the abduction of Justice Omukoro and one Aladei Godsave, owner of Ruthmore Hotel.
The arresting officers, led by CSP Chris Nwaogbo, also reportedly recovered a motorcycle belonging to one of the suspected kidnappers from the suspect’s compound.
The motorcycle was allegedly owned by dismissed and wanted Police Sergeant Obrientele Ebiarede and was reportedly used to procure food and other items for victims held at the kidnappers’ camp in the Orkaki bush, located along the boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa states.
A senior police officer at the Bayelsa State Police Command attributed the success of the investigation to the sustained support of the Commissioner of Police, CP Iyamah Daniel Edebor, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, for their commitment to diligent investigation and effective policing.
It was gathered that the investigating team of Operation Puff Adder, now renamed the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), led by CSP Chris Nwaogbo, has concluded investigations and forwarded the case file to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Justice.
Sources within the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the police investigation team recommended that the state government invoke Section 7 of the Bayelsa State Kidnapping and Allied Offences Law, 2013, for the temporary forfeiture of the suspect’s house pending the outcome of prosecution.
Justice E.G. Omukoro, a Bayelsa State High Court Judge, was abducted by masked gunmen in Yenagoa on June 21, 2025, and held captive for 12 days before regaining his freedom unharmed on July 3, 2025.
The judge was reportedly kidnapped after armed men blocked his vehicle with a white Hilux van on the evening of June 21, 2025.
Several suspects had earlier been arrested in connection with the incident, particularly in Ekeremor Local Government Area. Some of the suspects reportedly confessed that they stumbled upon the judge accidentally rather than specifically targeting him, but nevertheless held him captive for nearly two weeks.
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