Prime suspect in murder of Bayelsa estate agent attempts to bribe police, immigration officers with N4m

Thursday, September 25, 2025 - Operatives of Operation Puff Adder of the Bayelsa State Police Command and Nigerian Immigration Office, Festac Town, Lagos, rejected a bribe of N4 million from George Idumangi, who was arrested for the m8rder of a real estate agent, Richard Ekpebu. 

Ekpebu was abducted, k!lled in Bayelsa and his body dumped in a bush on July 24, 2025.

Idumangi was arrested on Monday by men of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Lagos when he went to collect his processed International Passport.

His arrest was due to inter-agency collaboration between the Nigerian Immigration Service, Operation Puff Adder and the Area E Police Command in Lagos. 

According to Punch, Idumangi allegedly offered the N4 million bribe to immigration officers so they would not hand him over to the police, and later offered the police N3 million to delete a certain file from his phone.

A senior police officer disclosed in Yenagoa that Idumangi, in his desperation to evade arrest and his handover to men of the Bayelsa Police Command, offered the immigration and Police Personnel the sum of N4 million.

“But they stood their ground and rejected the money. He also offered them two million Naira to allow him to delete a file from his new mobile phone before he would be handed over, but they also rejected the move,” the officer said. 

“In desperation, he offered three million Naira for the phone to be destroyed and not handed over to the team of Bayelsa Police personnel, but they still refused.”

It was gathered that when men of the Operation Puff Adder, led by CSP Chris Nwaogbo, arrived in Lagos to secure the suspected killer, he also made the same bribe offer to them and was turned down with a serious warning.

The suspect’s mobile phone and his recently procured International Passport are in the custody of Operation Puff Adder, and he will soon be flown back to Yenagoa.

Other suspects in the murder are Victor Shadrack, popularly known as Doggy, Insurance and Miss Victory Benard Henry, who received one million for her role in the killing.

The spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, SP Musa Mohammed, confirmed that Idumangi offered the police officers bribe. 

“Yes, he offered them the bribe,” Mohammed said.