By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
The Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested a suspected killer of a popular estate agent, Richard Ekpebu, whose death in July sparked outrage in the state.
The suspect, identified as George Idumangi from Ogbia Local Government Area, was arrested in Lagos by operatives of Operation Puff Adder while attempting to procure an international passport in a bid to flee the country.
Ekpebu, 42, was abducted and murdered on July 24, 2025, with his body later discovered dumped in a bush along the new Otuoke road near Bayelsa Palm.
Police sources disclosed that the investigation intensified after Ekpebu’s family petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Francis Idu, over delays in tracking the killers. The case was subsequently transferred to Operation Puff Adder, led by Commander Chris Nwaogbo.
The operation reportedly stretched across several parts of Lagos, including Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac, Ikeja, and Orile, where the suspect had been hiding. Though officers narrowly missed him at some hideouts, they recovered his bag containing a T-shirt with the inscription IYC Tactical Team and two mobile phones linked to the crime.
In a related breakthrough, detectives also arrested Idumangi’s 23-year-old girlfriend, Victory Bernard Henry, in Yenagoa. Items recovered from her custody included a pump-action gun, five live cartridges, two empty AK-47 magazines, ten walkie-talkies, ten chargers, and three AK-47 rifle slings.
Investigations revealed that Henry allegedly lured the victim by presenting a land deal. Ekpebu facilitated the connection between Idumangi and a prospective buyer, who paid N9 million directly into the suspect’s account.
Henry was said to have pocketed N1 million from the transaction. Trouble, however, began when the buyer demanded land documents. Ekpebu, who was sidelined in the deal, denied knowledge of the documents and warned Idumangi not to implicate him.
To silence him, the suspect and an accomplice identified as “Biggy” allegedly lured Ekpebu out of his house, abducted, and murdered him to conceal the fraudulent transaction.
Confirming the arrest, CP Francis Idu commended the operatives for their resilience. “After painstaking intelligence and law enforcement measures, Mr. George Idumangi, who murdered Mr. Richard Ekpebu at Bayelsa Palm Road in early August, was arrested this morning in Lagos trying to flee the country. This was done with real intelligence. I am grateful to the noble people of Bayelsa and the government,” he said.
The police assured that investigations are ongoing to track down other accomplices and ensure justice for the slain realtor.