The eight suspects arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Bayelsa High Court Judge, Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro, have confessed to their roles in the crime and revealed chilling details of how the operation was carried out.

The suspects—six men and two women—were paraded on Thursday in Yenagoa by the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu, with the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adedapo Amao, also present.

According to the confessions, the judge was abducted on June 21 from the premises of a popular eatery in the Ekeki area of Yenagoa. One of the suspects, Justice Brodrick, from Ozobo community in Delta State, revealed they were not targeting the judge specifically but stumbled on him during a patrol.

“We were just patrolling when we saw him at Kilimanjaro,” Brodrick said. “We were given uniforms and a vehicle, and then we moved from our camp. Once we saw the judge, we kidnapped him and took him to our camp.”

He added that upon finding out the victim was Ijaw and from Ekeremor LGA, they de

cided to treat him “with care,” though he was still kept in handcuffs under orders from their gang leader known as "General", who remains at large.

Another suspect, John, admitted he didn’t join the actual kidnapping but was present at the camp when the judge was brought in.

The Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, had earlier confirmed that all the suspects except the gang leader had been arrested. He praised the DSS and the police for their teamwork, which led to the rescue and arrests.

Commissioner Idu explained that a DSS special team from Abuja led the operation and credited the success to the CCTV surveillance system installed across Yenagoa by the state government.

“Bayelsa is no longer a hiding place for criminals,” Idu warned. “Anyone planning to commit crimes here should think twice.”

This high-profile case has once again highlighted the value of joint security operations and surveillance technology in fighting crime in the state.