The Delta State Police Command has arrested a 20-year-old herbalist, Amechi Okwuokenye, and his 26-year-old stepbrother, Smart Okwuokenye, over the alleged kidnap and murder of two men whose bodies were later recovered from a soakaway pit in Owa-Alidima, Ika North East Local Government Area of the state.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, the case began on September 30, 2025, when one of the victims, 22-year-old Mr. Friday Liberty, visited the herbalist but never returned. His disappearance sparked concern among his family, who later received information from Liberty’s girlfriend linking him to the herbalist shortly before he went missing.
Despite contacting the herbalist, who denied any involvement and offered spiritual assistance to “bring Liberty back,” the family saw no progress and subsequently petitioned the police at the Agbor Area Command on October 14.
Detectives commenced an intelligence-driven investigation, which eventually revealed that the herbalist was the last person seen with the victim. Surveillance was mounted around his shrine for several days, leading to his arrest on October 23, 2025. He was reportedly found hiding inside a refrigerator in the shrine.
Upon interrogation, Amechi confessed to conspiring with his stepbrother to kidnap Liberty and a motorcycle rider, identified as Isioma Ugbeje, who had transported him to the shrine. The suspects allegedly demanded a ransom of ₦10 million from Liberty’s family. When the ransom plan failed, they killed both victims and dumped their bodies in a soakaway pit within the shrine premises.
The herbalist further admitted that the deceased had been his regular customer, seeking charms to manipulate people into giving him money.
Police have recovered the decomposed bodies of the two victims, now deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.
The Commissioner of Police, Delta State, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, assured the public that justice will be thoroughly pursued, reaffirming the Command’s commitment to combating crime in the state.
