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The Department of State Services (DSS) in Bayelsa State confirmed the judge’s release on Thursday but did not provide further details regarding the circumstances of his freedom or whether he was in their custody.
Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro of the Bayelsa State High Court, who was abducted by masked gunmen on the evening of Saturday, June 21, 2025, has regained his freedom.
The Department of State Services (DSS) in Bayelsa State confirmed the judge’s release on Thursday but did not provide further details regarding the circumstances of his freedom or whether he was in their custody.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters has gathered that the State Commissioner for Information, Orientation, and Strategy, Hon. Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, is en route to the DSS office in Yenagoa and is expected to provide additional information shortly.
SaharaReporters previously reported that armed men dressed in black abducted Justice Omukoro, in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
The assailants, who arrived in a white Hilux van, seized the judge around 7:00 p.m. in front of a popular eatery in the Ekeki area along Chief Melford Okilo Expressway.
A viral video shows the judge being forcefully dragged into the white Hilux by the gunmen.
Following the judge’s abduction, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yenagoa Branch declared an indefinite boycott of court proceedings across Yenagoa and Sagbama jurisdictions.
On June 23, lawyers staged a solidarity protest march, fully robed, to express outrage and demand urgent action. Protest letters were delivered to the Commissioner of Police and State DSS Director, urging swift rescue efforts.
NBA Chairman Somina Johnbull confirmed that the association was in constant communication with law enforcement.
The NBA described the abduction as a direct attack on the judiciary and a threat to the rule of law.
He was said to have just returned from an engagement in Warri, Delta State, before the attack occurred.
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