ASABA/Nigeria: A 22-year-old herbalist, identified as Amechi Okwuokenye, and his elder brother, Smart Okwuokenye, have been arrested by operatives of the Delta State Police Command for the gruesome kidnapping and murder of a young man, Friday Liberty, and his motorcycle rider, Isioma Ugbeje, after luring them to a shrine in Owa-Alidima, Ika North East Local Government Area.
According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Bright Edafe, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, the incident began when the victim, Friday Liberty, a 22-year-old, visited the herbalist’s shrine on September 30, 2025, and never returned home.
His disappearance triggered a frantic search by his family, who later got information from his girlfriend that he had gone to see a herbalist he often patronized. The family contacted the herbalist, who denied knowledge of Liberty’s whereabouts but deceitfully offered to perform “spiritual incantations” to help bring him back alive — after collecting money from the desperate family.
When the family saw no results, they petitioned the Agbor Area Command on October 14, 2025, leading detectives to launch an intelligence-driven investigation. Their findings soon revealed that the last person Liberty contacted was indeed the same herbalist who denied ever seeing him.
Acting on credible intelligence, operatives mounted surveillance around the suspect’s shrine for several days. The operation paid off on October 23, 2025, when the herbalist, Amechi Okwuokenye, was arrested while hiding inside a refrigerator at his shrine.
During interrogation, Amechi confessed to the crime, revealing that he and his elder brother, Smart Okwuokenye (26), kidnapped Liberty and the motorcycle rider who had conveyed him to the shrine. He further disclosed that Liberty was a longtime client who frequently visited him to perform charms to “hypnotize” people into giving him money.
According to the police, the herbalist told investigators that his brother had approached him for financial help, and together they hatched a plan to lure one of his clients for ransom. Liberty became their target. They kidnapped him and the Okada rider, demanded a ransom of ₦10 million, and later killed both victims when the ransom failed to materialize. The suspects then dumped the bodies inside a soakaway pit behind the shrine.
Police detectives have since recovered the decomposing remains of the victims, which have been evacuated and deposited at the mortuary for autopsy, while the suspects remain in custody.
Confirming the arrest, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda assured the public that the Delta State Police Command would ensure that justice is served, stressing that the suspects would face the full wrath of the law.
“The command remains resolute in its commitment to protect lives and property, and those who take the lives of others will not go unpunished,” CP Abaniwonda said.
The statement, reaffirmed that investigations are ongoing and that the suspects will soon be charged to court upon conclusion.
