The Delta State Police Command has narrated how two siblings, one a herbalist who plied his trade in Owa-Alidima in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State, allegedly murdered two victims and dumped their bodies in a soakaway pit by their shrine.
According to the police, the suspects identified as Amechi Okwuokenye, aged 20 years and his elder brother, Smart Okwuokenye, aged 26years, kidnapped one Liberty Friday and a motorcycle rider, Isioma Ugbeje for ransom but later killed the duo when the plan to obtain a N10 million ransom from their families failed.
Friday, who normally patronized the herbalist for charms met his end, when the herbalist allegedly connived with his stepbrother and lured him to their shrine for a possible kidnap for ransom case but killed him and the commercial motorcyclist that brought him.
Giving graphic details of the incident, Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, in a statement on Sunday, said: “it was a case of the hunter becoming the hunted, when on September 30, 2025, Mr Friday Liberty, aged 22 years old, visited his herbalist, whom he had known for some time now, but this time, he never returned.
“The family, who initially didn’t know what happened to their brother, started looking for him.
“The girlfriend of the deceased then informed the family that she heard a conversation about the said Friday liberty and a certain herbalist, and advised that they should reach out to the said herbalist.
“The family contacted the herbalist, who denied seeing him, but promised to do some spiritual incantations so their brother could return alive.
“Having spent money on the herbalist, and the result was not forthcoming, they then reported the matter at the Agbor Area Command via a petition on October 14, 2025.
“And this decision proved to be the turning point in the case as the area command detectives embarked on an intelligence-led investigation.
“During the course of the investigation, the detectives uncovered the last person whom Friday Liberty contacted, and found out it was the same herbalist who denied knowing his whereabouts.
“Surveillance was laid around his shrine at Owa-Alidima in Ika North East Local Goveenment Area, for days, until he was arrested on October 23, 2025, in his shrine while hiding inside a refrigerator.
Read also:
- Delta Police arrest suspected cultist while attempting to buy AK-47 from kidnap gang
- Criminal suspects terrorising Warri, Sapele, arrested by Delta police
- Delta police nab armed robbery suspect, recover 3 guns
“Upon arrest of the herbalist Amechi Okwuokenye, aged 20 years, he confessed that both he and his brother, Smart Okwuokenye, aged 26years, kidnapped the victim Liberty Friday and the motorcycle rider identified as Isioma Ugbeje, who carried him to the shrine.
“They further stated that Friday Liberty has been his long-time customer who frequently visits him to hypnotise clients so they could give him money easily.
“The herbalist said his elder brother approached him that he needed money and advised him to lure any of his clients so they could kidnap him and ask for ransom, and the unlucky person they could lure was Liberty Friday.
“They kidnapped him and the Okada rider and demanded a ransom of N10 million. When they noticed that the plan was not working, they murdered him and the motorcycle rider and dumped their bodies in a soakaway pit by the shrine.
“Suspects are in custody, and the remains of the victims have been evacuated and deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.”
The statement said the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, Olufemi Abaniwonda has assured the public that the command will ensure that justice is served in this case
