The Bayelsa State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of some suspects involved in the brutal killing of the paramount ruler of Kalaba Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Odeinyefa Ogbolosingha, who was also the in-law to Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri.
The deceased monarch was murdered alongside the Chairman of the Community Development Committee, Kolibo Francis Amabelimo, and a community member, Samuel Oburo, in a violent attack that shook the community in 2022.
While addressing journalists in Yenagoa on Monday, the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, CP Francis Idu, disclosed that one of the suspects, Clever Ovo, aged 33, is in custody and has confessed to the crime. Ovo revealed that he and his accomplices were members of the dreaded Endurance Amagbein gang, led by the notorious militant, Endurance Amagbein, who is currently wanted by the Nigerian Army for the 2024 killing of 16 soldiers in Okuama, Delta State.
The police commissioner stated that two other suspects, Gideon Atama, 32, and Bethlehem Nwanlia, 49, are still at large, while a fourth suspect, Perekebi Nwanlia, has been confirmed dead. Atama was previously arrested dressed in military camouflage, fully kitted as a soldier. A search of his phone reportedly uncovered images of assorted rifles and incriminating voice notes referencing past criminal operations and sponsorship of vandalism in the region.
In a separate development, police operatives attached to the Labrado Security houseboat in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area arrested a 20-year-old boat captain, Daniel Williams, for alleged involvement in pipeline vandalism. Williams, a native of Igbomotoro Community, was accused of aiding Amagbein’s gang in transporting equipment for an attack on the Tebidaba-Brass trunkline operated by Oando.
CP Idu stressed that despite ongoing military operations and Presidential directives to curb oil theft in the Niger Delta, criminal elements remain defiant. He assured that the suspects will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
