Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in Bayelsa State have arrested another major suspect linked to the abduction of E. G. Omukoro, nearly five months after the incident occurred in Yenagoa.
The arrest was reportedly carried out by officers attached to the newly created Inspector-General of Police Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) in the state command.
Police sources identified the suspect as 39-year-old Ogbonna-Otu Emizibo Dennis, popularly known as “Ogbono,” an indigene of Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
According to investigators, security operatives monitored the suspect’s residence for several months before apprehending him upon his return to the area. Sources within the judiciary disclosed that Justice Omukoro later identified the suspect during an identification parade.
Investigators alleged that the suspect owned the white Hilux vehicle reportedly used during the abduction operation. Although the suspect claimed the vehicle belonged to a retired brigadier general and had been returned after a driving assignment, a family source reportedly contradicted the explanation, insisting the vehicle was still in his possession at the time of the incident.
Further findings by investigators allegedly linked the suspect to a house located along School Road in Edepie, Yenagoa, which police believe served as a planning base for the kidnapping operations involving the judge and another victim, hotel owner Aladei Godsave.
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During the operation, officers led by CSP Chris Nwaogbo also recovered a motorcycle allegedly belonging to a dismissed police sergeant, Obrientele Ebiarede, who has been declared wanted in connection with the case. The motorcycle was reportedly used to purchase supplies for victims held at a camp located in the Orkaki bush area along the Bayelsa–Rivers boundary.
A senior police officer attributed the progress recorded in the investigation to the support of the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Iyamah Daniel Edebor, and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu.
Sources also disclosed that the VCRU investigative team has concluded its inquiry and forwarded the case file to the Department of Public Prosecution within the Bayelsa State Ministry of Justice.
Officials familiar with the matter said police recommended that the state government invoke provisions of the Bayelsa State Kidnapping and Allied Offences Law, 2013, to temporarily forfeit the suspect’s property pending the outcome of prosecution.
Justice Omukoro was abducted by masked gunmen in Yenagoa on June 21, 2025, after his vehicle was intercepted by a white Hilux van. He regained freedom unharmed on July 3, 2025, after spending 12 days in captivity.
Earlier arrests made during the investigation reportedly revealed that the kidnappers did not initially target the judge specifically but decided to hold him after encountering him during the operation.
