-
Recover Bodies in Soakaway
- Safiu Kehinde
The Delta State Police Command has nabbed a 20-year-old herbalist over alleged murder of his client and suspected internet fraudster- popularly called Yahoo Boy, Friday Liberty.
In what was described as a case of the hunter becoming the hunted, the 22-year-old Liberty had reportedly visited his herbalist, identified as Amechi Okwuokenye, on the 30th of September but never returned.
The family, who initially didn’t know what happened to their brother, started looking for him.
Meanwhile, the girlfriend of the deceased informed the family that she heard a conversation about the said Liberty and a certain herbalist and advised that they should reach out to the said herbalist.
As recounted in a statement issued on Sunday by the Police Spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, the family contacted the herbalist, who denied seeing him.
The herbalist promised to do some spiritual incantations so their brother could return alive.
Having spent money on the herbalist, and the result was not forthcoming, they then reported the matter at the Agbor Area command via a petition on 14th October 2025.
In the wake of the report, the command detectives embarked on an intelligence-led investigation.
During the course of the investigation, the detectives uncovered the last person whom Friday Liberty contacted and found out it was the same herbalist who denied knowing his whereabouts.
Surveillance was laid around his shrine at Owa-Alidima in Ika Northeast LGA, for days, until he was arrested on 23rd October 2025, in his shrine while hiding inside a refrigerator.
Upon arrest of the herbalist. he confessed that both he and his 26-year-old brother Smart Okwuokenye, kidnapped the victim Lberty and the motorcycle rider identified as Isioma Ugbeje, who carried him to the shrine.
The herbalist further stated that Friday Liberty has been his long-time customer who frequently visits him to hypnotise clients so they could give him money easily (in his words, ‘to tie clients ‘).
He said his elder brother approached him that he needed money and advised him to lure any of his clients so they could kidnap him and ask for ransom, and the unlucky person they could lure was Liberty.
They kidnapped him and the Okada Rider, demanding a ransom of N10 mILLION.
When they noticed that the plan was not working, they murdered him and the motorcycle rider and dumped their bodies in a soakaway pit by the shrine.
The suspects are in custody, and the remains of the victims have been evacuated and deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.
In his remark, the Delta State commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, assured the public that the command will ensure that justice is served in this case.