In a shocking turn of events, operatives of the Delta State Police Command have arrested a 20-year-old herbalist, Amechi Okwuokenye, and his 26-year-old stepbrother, Smart Okwuokenye, for the kidnap and gruesome murder of two young men, including one of the herbalist’s long-time clients, in Owa-Alidima community, Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State.
The police revealed that the tragic incident unfolded after Mr. Friday Liberty, aged 22, visited the suspect’s shrine on September 30, 2025, and never returned.
Following his mysterious disappearance, Liberty’s family launched an intensive search.
According to the command’s spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, the deceased’s girlfriend had informed the family that she overheard discussions linking Liberty’s disappearance to a certain herbalist.
The family reached out to the said herbalist, who denied any knowledge of the victim’s whereabouts but deceitfully offered to perform spiritual incantations to bring him back, collecting money in the process.
When no result came, the family lodged a formal complaint at the Agbor Area Command on October 14, 2025.
Acting on the petition, detectives initiated a meticulous, intelligence-driven investigation that traced Liberty’s last known contact to the same herbalist.
After days of surveillance around the shrine at Owa-Alidima, operatives stormed the location on October 23, arresting Amechi Okwuokenye, who was found hiding inside a refrigerator within the premises.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly confessed to the crime, implicating his brother Smart.
He admitted that they lured Liberty, his regular client who often sought “spiritual help” to hypnotize people for money, into a kidnapping plot gone wrong.
Amechi further disclosed that his brother had convinced him to target one of his wealthy clients for ransom.
They also abducted Isioma Ugbeje, the commercial motorcycle rider who transported Liberty to the shrine.
After demanding a ransom of ₦10 million, the suspects allegedly killed both men when the ransom failed to materialize and dumped their bodies in a soakaway pit beside the shrine.
Police operatives later recovered the decomposed remains of both victims, which have been evacuated and deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.
Speaking on the development, Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, assured residents that justice will be served, reaffirming the Command’s commitment to stamping out all forms of criminality in the state.
“This is a heartbreaking case, but we will ensure that every person connected to this heinous act faces the full weight of the law,” CP Abaniwonda vowed.
The suspects remain in custody as investigations continue.
