Police Arrest Suspect for Murder of Bayelsa Estate Agent Man
Operatives of the tactical squad of Operation Puff Adder of the Bayelsa State Police Command have arrested the suspected killer of 42-year-old Estate Agent Richard Ekpebu.
The deceased Estate Agent, Richard Ekpebu, was abducted and murdered on the 24th of July, 2025, with his body dumped in a bush along the new Otuoke road near Bayelsa Palm.
The suspected killer, identified as George Idumangi, hails from Ogbia Local Government Area and claims to be a member of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) worldwide. He was arrested in Lagos while attempting to procure an international passport at the immigration office.
It was gathered that following complaints and a petition by the family of the deceased Estate Agent over the alleged delay in the investigation, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Francis Idu, ordered that the case be transferred to Operation Puff Adder, headed by Commander Chris Nwaogbo.
Police sources confirmed that the investigation and trailing of the suspected killer took the operatives of Puff Adder from Yenagoa to Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac, Ikeja, and Orile in Lagos State in the past week.
The investigating police officers stormed homes identified as his hideouts in Lagos and narrowly missed him, but they were able to recover his bag containing a T-shirt with the inscription “IYC tactical team” and two phones he was using when he killed the deceased.
CSP Chris Nwaogbo and his team, within a recorded time of eight days, arrested the girlfriend of the alleged killer, identified as 23-year-old Victory Benard Henry, and recovered (1) one pump action gun, (2) five live cartridges, (3) two empty AK-47 magazines, (4) 10 walkie talkies, (5) 10 chargers, and three AK-47 rifle slings in her custody in Yenagoa.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased Estate Agent was contacted by the suspect’s girlfriend about land for sale. The deceased agent linked the suspect with the potential buyer, and the sum of nine million naira was paid directly into George Idumangi’s account.
Miss Victory Benard Henry was alleged to have benefited the sum of one million naira for her role in the deal.
It was, however, gathered that trouble started when the buyer demanded the documents of the land. The buyer contacted the agent for the papers, and the agent asked them to meet the owner of the land as he was left out of the transaction. He told the buyer that instead of making him aware of the transaction, they paid without his knowledge.
The deceased was told that his killer claimed he had been given the documents to the land, a claim he denied and called the suspect to warn him not to lie against him.
The suspect, in the company of one Victor Shadrack, popularly known as Doggy, and one Insurance, who is known to be a Presidential Amnesty beneficiary and member of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), lured the deceased out of his house and abducted him before killing him. They killed him because they wanted to cover up the lie they told the buyer that the deceased had run away with the land documents.
Police sources also informed our correspondent that the land had earlier been sold to the Chief Security Officer to the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, before the suspects sold it again to another person.
Confirming the incident, the State Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu, said, “After painstaking intelligence and law enforcement measures, Mr. George Idumangi, who murdered Mr. Richard Ekpebu at Bayelsa Palm in early August, was arrested this morning in Lagos trying to flee the country. This was done with real intelligence. I am grateful to the noble people of Bayelsa and the Prosperity Government.”
