Kidnappers collected N10m ransom to free Delta judge –Investigation

Justice Marcel Okoh

Fresh facts have emerged about how Justice Marcel Okoh of Delta State High Court secured freedom on Wednesday after eight days with kidnappers. Dependable family sources told Sunday Mirror yesterday that members of the family, friends and professional colleagues of the embattled judicial officer, raised a whooping sum of N10million, which was eventually released to the hoodlums to facilitate freedom for the judge. One of the sources told Sunday Mirror that the ransom was dropped at a designated location as demanded by his abductors. It was gathered that the judge was freed, moments after the ransom was in the custody of the kidnappers.

The source, who craved anonymity, said the kidnappers, who initially demanded N40 million ransom shifted grounds following pleas by members of the family and as sociates of the judge.

Findings by Sunday Mirror further revealed that the option to pay the ransom became imperative following the glaring failure of the security agencies to locate the kidnapper’s den and threat by the hoodlums to kill the judge.

One of the sources said, “The experience of the last few days was traumatising as the kidnappers of Justice Okoh initially demanded N40million ransom. We played along with the kidnappers initially as the security agents were involved, tracking their location. We kept the negotiation going, on the assumption that the efforts of the security agents and the state government would achieve results.

“But the kidnappers were aware of the every effort of the security agents and they kept warning us against using the security agents to trail them. They threatened to kill the judge if we continue to relate with the security agents and refuse to pay the ransom.

“We were convinced at a point that it was counterproductive to continue to engage the security agents and that was how we commenced serious engagement and negotiation with the kidnappers. We pleaded with them to scale down the ransom and we eventually settled for N10m, which we dropped at a designated location as directed by the kidnappers on Wednesday.

“The judge was subsequently freed on Wednesday night,” the source added.

Okoh, who was recently appointed a judge of the High Court of Delta State, was formerly the Director of Public Prosecution in the state’s Ministry of Justice.

He was abducted at Oria- Abraka, in Ethiope East Local Government area of the state, on Tuesday, August 7.

The judicial officer was on his way to work where he functioned as the vacation judge of Warri Division of the state’s High Court when he was waylaid by gunmen.

Source: National Mirror