Operatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Festac, Lagos, and officers of Operation Puff Adder, Bayelsa State Police Command, have rejected a N4 million bribe offered by George Idumangi, the suspected killer of a 42-year-old estate agent, Richard Ekpebu.
Idumangi was arrested on Monday at the Festac Immigration office while trying to collect his international passport.
His arrest followed weeks of joint investigations between the Bayelsa Police and Lagos security agencies.
According to police sources, Operation Puff Adder had earlier alerted Immigration and Area E Police Command in Festac about possible moves by the suspect to evade arrest. That collaboration eventually led to his capture.
A senior officer told reporters that Idumangi first offered N4 million to avoid being handed over to the Bayelsa Police. He also begged officers to let him delete files from his phone for N2 million or destroy the device entirely for N3 million. All offers were firmly rejected.
When CSP Chris Nwaogbo and his team from Operation Puff Adder arrived in Lagos to take custody of the suspect, he repeated the bribe attempt but was again turned down.
His passport and phone are now in police custody.
Idumangi, who hails from Ogbia local government area in Bayelsa and is a member of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), is accused of conspiring with others to abduct and murder Ekpebu on July 24, 2025. Ekpebu’s body was later found in a bush along the Otuoke road near Bayelsa Palm.
Others named in the case include Victor Shadrack, also called Doggy; a man known as Insurance, an IYC member and PAP beneficiary; and Miss Victory Benard Henry, Idumangi’s girlfriend from Akwa Ibom. Victory, described as the group’s armourer, allegedly received N1 million for her role.
Police investigations traced Idumangi’s movements across Lagos, Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac, Ikeja, and Orile. Though he escaped raids on his hideouts, officers recovered his bag containing two phones and an IYC tactical team T-shirt.
Within eight days, CSP Nwaogbo’s team also arrested Victory in Yenagoa and recovered weapons from her, including a pump-action gun, live cartridges, empty AK-47 magazines, walkie-talkies, and rifle slings.
The suspect is expected to be flown to Yenagoa soon to face further investigation and prosecution.
