The office of the Bayelsà State Attorney General has concluded plans to arraign a key suspect in the June, 2025 kidnap of a State High Court Judge, Justice E.G.Umokoro in the State.
The suspect, 39 years old Ogbonna-Otu Emizibo Dennis, Popularly known as Ogbono and is an Indigenes of Ekeremor Local Government council area of the State, is expected to commence on the Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at the State High Court 4 in Yenagoa.
Judicial sources told our correspondent that the a four- count charges of conspiracy to commit felony, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit grievous harm and attempted murder.
The suit, which is numbered BYHC/YHC/CR/44/2026, is expected to be handled by the State prosecuting team led by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Peretimi Judith Peterside Esq.
Police sources also confirmed to our correspondent that the operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) led by CSP Chris Nwaogbo mounted vigilance around his residence for over five months till his return.
The suspect was also said to have been identified by Justice E.G Omukoro during suspect parade. He was also identified as the suspect who provided the white Hilux used in the State High Court Judge abduction.
The suspect during interrogation, according to sources, claimed the white Hilux in his possession was returned to the owner who is a retired Brigadier General after the driving job was concluded.
But a close family member punctured the claim by alleging that he was in possession of the white Hilux at the reported time of the alleged abduction.
He was also identified as the owner of the house located along the school road in Edepie, where the kidnap gang allegedly used as the planning base for the abduction of one Aladei God save, owner of the Ruthmore Hotel and the State High Court Judge.
The arresting officers led by VCRU Commander Chris Nwaogbo and his team also recovered the motorcycle owned by one of the kidnappers in his compound.
The Motorcycle, allegedly owned by dismissed and declared wanted Police Sergeant Obrientele Ebiarede ,was reportedly used to procure food and other items for their victims at their Camp at Orkaki bush, a boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa State.
Legal practitioners in the state have commended the State Police Command led the State Commissioner of Police, CP Iyamah Daniel Edebor on diligent investigation and policing.
They described the efforts of the State Police Command and the VCRU for ensuring that criminals don’t go scot free and they are brought to book.
Source from the Ministry of Justice, confirmed to our correspondent, that the Police Investigation team, among other recommendations, proposed that the State Government should invoke section 7 of the State Kidnapping and allied offences Law,2013 for temporary forfeiture of the Suspect’s house pending the outcome of prosecution.
Justice E. G. Omukoro, a Bayelsa State High Court judge, was kidnapped by masked gunmen in Yenagoa on June 21, 2025, and held for 12 days before being released unharmed on July 3, 2025.
Justice Omukoro was taken on Saturday evening, June 21, 2025, after suspects blocked his car with a white Hilux van.
Recall that multiple suspects were arrested, including in the Ekeremor area, and some confessed to stumbling upon the judge rather than targeting him specifically, though they held him in captivity for nearly two weeks.
The suspect claimed the white Hilux in his possession was returned to the owner who is a retired Brigadier General after the driving job was concluded. But a close family member punctured the claim by alleging that he was in possession of the white Hilux at the reported time of the alleged abduction.
Investigations also revealed that the suspect, Ogbonna-Otu Emizibo Dennis, was the owner of the White Hilux used by the kidnapping gang in the abduction of the Judge.
He was also identified as the owner of the house located along the school road in Edepie, where the kidnap gang allegedly used as the planning base for the abduction of one Aladei God save,owner of the Ruth more Hotel and the State High Court Judge.
The arresting officers led by Commander Chris Nwaogbo and his team also recovered the motorcycle owned by one of the kidnappers in his compound.
The Motorcycle, allegedly owned by dismissed and declared wanted Police Sergeant Obrientele Ebiarede ,was reportedly used to procure food and other items for their victims at their Camp at Orkaki bush, a boundary between Rivers and Bayelsa State.
Source from the Ministry of Justice, confirmed to our correspondent, that the Police Investigation team, among other recommendations, proposed that the State Government should invoke section 7 of the State Kidnapping and allied offences Law,2013 for temporary forfeiture of the Suspect’s house pending the outcome of prosecution.
Justice E. G. Omukoro, a Bayelsa State High Court judge, was kidnapped by masked gunmen in Yenagoa on June 21, 2025, and held for 12 days before being released unharmed on July 3, 2025.
Justice Omukoro was taken on Saturday evening, June 21, 2025, after suspects blocked his car with a white Hilux van.
