Crime
Reign Of Terror As Gunmen Takeover Bayelsa, High Court Judge Kidnapped
He was kidnapped in front of a popular eatery known as Kilimanjaro at about 7 p.m. after a struggle.
The judge, according to many legal practitioners in the state, was in the company of two of his daughters to buy a loaf of bread from the eatery before the gunmen struck.
He was described as a confident judge who usually drove himself around town without designated security during off-duty hours. He was also a former State Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Eyewitnesses at the eatery and those across at Ekeki Park confirmed that the abducted judge was trailed to the eatery by the armed men dressed in full police combat regalia with masks covering their faces.
Two of the men were seen alighting from a Nissan Hilux vehicle and tapping on the car window, which was rolled down by the judge, who was on a call with his mobile phone.
One eyewitness said he overheard the men telling the judge, “Our Oga wants to see you,” but the judge responded, “Are you aware I am a judge? Tell your Oga to come and see me here.”
The two armed men were seen walking away from his vehicle and making some calls to an unknown person. They later returned, knocked loudly on the judge’s car, forcefully opened the door, and dragged him out.
The judge, who seemed offended, was seen struggling with the gunmen while passersby watched in awe.
He was eventually forced into the white Nissan Hilux vehicle after much struggle. The incident lasted over 50 minutes.
A military personnel was sighted on the close-circuit camera of the eatery contemplating intervening in the altercation between the judge and the gunmen, “but thought better of it.”
However, a loud gunshot fired into the ground made the decision for him, and he scampered back into the eatery to avoid getting killed.
“I thought they were police or men of the DSS. But they were not carrying that funny (uzzi) rifle like the DSS, neither was their uniform marked ‘Police’. But they wore black on black with bulletproof jackets like the police. After the real police arrived, many people realized those others were kidnappers,” an eyewitness said.
Some staff of the eatery told newsmen that, in the midst of the struggle, the kidnapped judge’s mobile phone and a pouch containing his identity cards, ATM cards, and National ID card fell. Two mobile phones belonging to the kidnappers also fell.
A police source at the Ekeki Divisional Headquarters corroborated the claims, stating that a passerby picked up the judge’s phone and handed it to the police.
Contacted on the development, the spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Mohammed Musa, confirmed the incident and said the command has started a discreet investigation.
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Police Command has confirmed that the killer of the four-year-old boy, Godspower Ebisimiagh, also known as Bobby, is a member of a notorious cult group.
He was reportedly contracted to procure a boy for a charm-related human ritual.
According to the police, although an autopsy has been ordered on the corpse of the deceased boy, a discreet investigation is ongoing to verify the claims that the killer was paid the alleged sum of a million naira to kill the boy.
The suspect, who spoke with journalists in police custody, confirmed that he is 24 years old and a member of the notorious Greenlanders cult gang.
He, however, denied being paid N1 million to kill and bring the boy for cult-related ritual. “I was not paid to bring the boy for ritual,” he said.
On why he murdered the 6-year-old boy and kept the corpse in a sack, Bobby, whose head was wrapped in a heavily blood-stained bandage after a mob tried to lynch him, said he was on drugs when he smashed the boy on the floor and kept the remains in a sack.
“On that fateful day, I took ice (cocaine), and while I was eating with the boy, I stood up and smashed him on the floor,” he said.
A claim one of the senior policemen contradicted, accusing him of lacing the food given to the boy with poison: “If he smashed the boy on the floor, why was there no sign of injury on the body?”
A question Bobby could not answer as at the time our correspondent left the State Police Headquarters.
The State Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu, while speaking with our correspondent, said he allowed media interaction with the suspect to dismiss the claim of a cover-up or that he had died in police custody after the angry mob tried to lynch him.
He confirmed that the police are investigating the allegations of the suspect being contracted to procure a small boy for human sacrifice by his cult group. “We are also conducting an autopsy to know if the food given to the boy was laced with poison.”
He said he has assured gender advocacy groups and the Federation of Women Lawyers, who earlier paid a courtesy visit to the deceased boy’s family, that due diligence would be followed to ensure justice.
Recall that 6-year-old Muhammadu Bilah was allegedly murdered last Tuesday by Godspower Ebisimiagh, also known as Bobby, at the Aritalin area of Ovom in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking on insecurity in the state over the last six months, former Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) President, Udengs Eradiri, said over 40 persons had lost their lives to cult-related killings in the last four months.
He called on the State Governor, Sen. Douye Diri—whom he accused of remaining silent since the unholy incidents began—to take decisive action to end the cult war.
A young man suspected of attempting to steal cables from a transformer was found dead after reportedly being electrocuted along Trademore Road in Lugbe, Abuja, in the early hours of Friday.
The deceased was reportedly found crouched and lifeless near the transformer, with his body said to have become stiff, suggesting he may have been electrocuted when power was restored.
Residents said there had been no electricity supply in the area on Thursday night before the incident occurred.
The discovery attracted a crowd of residents, who expressed concern over the increasing activities of cable vandals in different parts of the Federal Capital Territory.
Rasheed Ogunyemi, a resident of Iddo Seriki along the Airport Road, said residents in his area often contribute money to repair their transformer, only for vandals to return and cut the cables.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident, stating that the deceased’s body had been evacuated and deposited at a mortuary in Gwagwalada for autopsy.
More than 60 worshippers are feared to have been kidnapped from the Central Mosque in Dekara town, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, during Jumu’at prayers on Friday.
The incident occurred when suspected terrorists, said to be operating in large numbers, stormed the mosque while the prayers were ongoing.
According to sources, the attackers fired several shots before rounding up some of the worshippers and taking them into the surrounding forest.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Borgu Local Government Area witnessed several security incidents on Friday, including attacks on three communities.
“So many things happened in Borgu LGA on Friday. Terrorists attacked three communities, including Dekara. In Dekara, they went to the Central Mosque while Jumu’at prayer was ongoing and kidnapped more than 60 people. But they did not injure anybody,” the resident said.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Oyewole Mayowa Solomon, has died after reportedly collapsing during a party reconciliation meeting in Iyara, the council headquarters.
Solomon reportedly slumped suddenly while participating in the meeting convened on Friday by a former Ijumu council chairman, Funsho Olumoko, as part of efforts to resolve internal disagreements and promote unity among APC stakeholders in the area.
An eyewitness said the incident caused confusion among participants, who immediately attempted to revive the party chairman before rushing him to a hospital in Kabba.
He reportedly died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
The development shocked party leaders and other stakeholders who had gathered for the reconciliation meeting, which was aimed at strengthening the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The meeting was expected to bring together party leaders, ward and local government executives, women and youth leaders, as well as government appointees from the 15 wards in Ijumu.
The incident occurred amid renewed efforts by APC stakeholders in the council to resolve longstanding disagreements and restore unity within the local chapter.
Earlier in the month, party leaders in Ijumu had endorsed President Bola Tinubu and Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, for second terms.
However, that gathering was reportedly disrupted by disagreements over the leadership of the local government, with Solomon and some other officials said to have walked out of the meeting.
Olumoko, who organised Friday’s reconciliation meeting, had previously been mandated by the Ijumu Consultative Forum to facilitate dialogue among political stakeholders in the council.
Solomon’s sudden death is expected to create fresh uncertainty around the ongoing reconciliation efforts within the Ijumu APC, coming barely two weeks after stakeholders renewed calls for unity ahead of the 2027 elections.
The cause of his death had not been officially disclosed as of the time of filing this report, while efforts to obtain an official reaction from the APC were ongoing.
Tension and grief have gripped the political community in Enugu State following the suspected murder of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Chairman in Udenu Local Government Area, Chisimdiri Emmanuel Ngwu.
Ngwu, described as one of the longest-serving members of the ADC in the state, was reportedly found dead in the early hours of Wednesday, August 19, 2026, under circumstances that have raised concerns among his family, friends and political associates.
A family source told our correspondent that Ngwu woke up early on Wednesday, left the house and never returned alive.
The source said the family became worried after they noticed he was missing, only to later discover his lifeless body outside the compound.
“We woke up and didn’t see him, only to discover his lifeless body in front of our compound,” the source said.
The source further alleged that scratches were found around Ngwu’s neck and that his neck appeared to have been twisted backwards, raising suspicions about the circumstances of his death.
The incident has sparked concern within the ADC in Udenu and the wider political community in Enugu State, with calls for security agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring anyone found responsible to justice.
Meanwhile, two persons have reportedly been arrested in connection with the incident.
Their identities and the specific circumstances surrounding their arrest were not immediately known as of press time.
Ngwu’s death has since sent shock waves through the ADC, with party members and associates mourning his death and demanding a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Anambra State Police Command has uncovered the circumstances surrounding the alleged murder of a 56-year-old man, Mr Kelechi Madu, in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area, two days after he was reported missing.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday, August 21, 2026, by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who said the breakthrough followed a coordinated search and investigation by police operatives, local vigilantes and members of the deceased’s family.
Madu was reported missing by his wife on August 18, after he reportedly left home on the evening of August 17 and failed to return.
According to the Command, the search for the missing man took a grim turn later that day when his wife returned to the police station to report that he had been found dead in a nearby bush at Umuobi, Awkuzu.
Police operatives immediately mobilised to the scene, where they found Madu’s lifeless body with a deep axe wound to his head. His remains were subsequently evacuated and deposited at a hospital mortuary for preservation.
Following the discovery, detectives intensified their investigation and arrested the deceased’s 32-year-old friend, Mr Ifeanyi Nwankwo, who allegedly confessed to being involved in the planning of the killing.
Preliminary findings by the Command indicated that Nwankwo allegedly obtained money from Madu through fraudulent means, claiming he would assist him in acquiring a piece of land.
Police alleged that the suspect subsequently engaged two other persons to eliminate Madu in an attempt to conceal the alleged fraudulent transaction and prevent the victim from recovering the money.
The Command said two other suspects linked to the alleged plot were also arrested, bringing the number of persons apprehended in connection with the case to four.
The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, psc, mnips, has directed investigators to intensify the probe and identify every person involved in the alleged conspiracy and murder.
The CP vowed that all persons found culpable would be brought to justice.
The Command, through Ikenga, assured residents that it would continue to strengthen intelligence-led policing and community partnerships to prevent violent crimes, uncover criminal networks and ensure that perpetrators face the full weight of the law.
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