June 22, (THEWILL) – Fresh details have emerged on how unidentified gunmen abducted a Bayelsa State High Court judge, Justice E.G. Umokoro, in the Ekeki area of Yenagoa, the state capital.
The incident occurred around 7pm on Monday in front of a popular eatery, Kilimanjaro, after a brief struggle.
According to eyewitnesses and legal practitioners, the judge was accompanied by two of his daughters to buy a loaf of bread when he was attacked and forcibly taken away.
Described as a confident and independent-minded judge, Umokoro was known to drive himself around town without a security escort during his off-duty hours. He once served as the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bayelsa chapter.
Judicial sources also describe him as an activist judge who had previously clashed with the Bayelsa State Police Command over controversial decisions, including the release of some suspected kidnappers on alleged technical grounds.
One of such rulings sparked a public spat between the outgoing NBA Chairman, Barr. Somina Johnbull, and the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Francis Idu.
Eyewitnesses at the eatery and the nearby Ekeki Park told reporters that the judge was trailed to the location by armed men dressed in black police-style combat gear, complete with bulletproof vests and face masks.
Two men reportedly alighted from a white Nissan Hilux vehicle, approached the judge’s car, and tapped on the window, which the judge rolled down while answering a call on his mobile phone.
One of the eyewitnesses recalled: “I overheard them telling him, ‘Our Oga wants to see you.’ The judge replied, ‘Are you aware I’m a judge? Tell your Oga to come and see me here.’”
The armed men then stepped away briefly, made a phone call, and returned moments later with a third accomplice. They knocked loudly on the vehicle, forcefully opened the door, and dragged the judge out while he resisted.
Passersby, caught off guard and unsure of the attackers’ identity, watched in shock as the judge was bundled into the waiting Hilux vehicle. The struggle reportedly lasted over 50 minutes.
A military personnel, captured by the eatery’s CCTV, was seen contemplating intervening but retreated when a loud gunshot was fired into the air by one of the gunmen.
Witnesses said the sound of the shot forced bystanders, including the soldier, to flee.
“Some of us initially thought they were police or DSS operatives.
“But their rifles were different, and their uniforms didn’t carry police or DSS identification. They wore black-on-black with bulletproof vests,” a witness said.
Staff of the eatery told reporters that during the struggle, the judge’s mobile phone, identity cards, ATM cards, and a pouch fell from his possession. Two mobile phones also reportedly fell from the abductors.
A source at the Ekeki Divisional Police Headquarters confirmed that a passerby found the judge’s phone and handed it over to the police.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Mohammed Musa, confirmed the abduction and said the command had launched a discreet investigation into the incident.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
