A High Court judge in Bayelsa State, Justice E.G. Umukoro, was abducted by suspected kidnappers on Saturday evening in Yenagoa, the state capital, in what witnesses described as a brazen and coordinated operation.
Justice Umukoro, who presides over High Court 7 in Bayelsa, was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint around 7:30pm near a popular eatery in the Ekeki area of the capital. Eyewitnesses said the attackers, clad in black uniforms, fired shots at the judge before blocking his vehicle with an unmarked white Hilux van and whisking him away.
The assailants abandoned the black Toyota Prado jeep in which the judge was travelling. A video currently circulating on social media shows the judge struggling with his abductors before being overpowered and taken away.
Confirming the incident, the spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, DSP Musa Muhammad, said in a brief statement that tactical units and surveillance drones had been deployed to track down the perpetrators.
“The command has deployed tactical teams and drones to trail and arrest the hoodlums,” Muhammad said in a WhatsApp message to journalists.
Justice Umukoro is regarded as a senior figure within the Bayelsa judiciary. He is a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yenagoa branch, and has presided over several high-profile and sensitive cases.
In 2021, he sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for raping and killing a five-year-old girl in Akede community, Sagbama Local Government Area. He has also handled major post-election litigation in the state.
Sources close to the judiciary said the judge had just returned from a private outing when he was ambushed.
Saturday’s abduction has raised concerns about the growing insecurity in Bayelsa and the vulnerability of judicial officers in the state. As of the time of filing this report, there has been no official demand for ransom, and the whereabouts of the judge remain unknown.
Efforts to reach officials of the state judiciary for comment proved abortive.
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