A High Court of Bayelsa State sitting in Yenagoa on Thursday, April 16, 2026, sentenced two men to death by hanging for the abduction of Mrs Grace Omietimi, mother of the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Dr James Omietimi.
The convicts, Mr Felix Oburu, a native of Omoku Community in Ogba/Egbema Local Government Area, and Mr Anthon Eligwe, from Oyigba Community in Ahoada West Local Government Area, both in Rivers State, were found to have conspired with accomplices still at large to carry out the crime.
The court heard that the defendants abducted Mrs Omietimi on September 17, 2017, and held her captive in Oyigba Community for several weeks before releasing her after the payment of a ransom.
They were subsequently apprehended by operatives of the Department of State Services, following intelligence-led operations that tracked their activities.
Delivering judgment in the case, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Justice Matilda Ayemieye, upheld the prosecution’s case, found the defendants guilty as charged, and sentenced them to death by hanging.
During the trial, the prosecution presented the victim, Mrs Omietimi, who gave a detailed account of her ordeal.
She identified the second defendant, Eligwe, as the individual in whose residence she was held throughout her captivity.
Her testimony was corroborated by the Investigating Officer from the DSS, Bayelsa State Command, who narrated how the suspects were tracked and arrested.
