A serving judge of the Bayelsa State High Court, Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro, has regained his freedom after 13 days in the captivity of kidnappers.
He was abducted by masked men on the evening of Saturday, 21st June 2025, at Kilimanjaro Eatery, opposite Ekeki Park in Yenagoa, the state capital.
According to reports, the kidnappers demanded the equivalent of N300 million in foreign currency to secure his release; however, the Bayelsa Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Commissioner of Police said Justice Omukoro was released without the payment of ransom.
Sources said few of the suspected abductors were identified and traced to the Ekeremor area of the state, where the judge comes from, and some of the judge’s relatives threatened the families of the identified kidnappers.
Speaking at the state headquarters of the DSS, the president of the Customary Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Daniel Ayah, appreciated the collective effort of the security agencies, the judiciary, and the state government.
Describing his ordeal, Justice Omukoro said, “I was beginning to give up. I felt like this nightmare was refusing to come to an end. I still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that I had been abducted, kidnapped, kept in the jungle by hoodlums masquerading as security men. But we thank God. God was always there for me.”
Justice Omukoro applauded the efforts of the security agencies, the judiciary, and his loved ones for working in synergy to secure his release.