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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Police Command has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassination of a real estate magnate, Ekpeboh Richard, in Bayelsa State.
Operatives of the Rapid Response Unit of the Bayelsa State Police Command recovered Ekpeboh’s body from a forest between the new NDDC road and Otuokpoti in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.
According to sources, the deceased was shot in the head in an execution-style manner and dumped in the bush.
Checks indicated that the deceased had left home on Thursday, July 24, 2025, and his wife became apprehensive at about 2 a.m. when he failed to return home.
His wife was said to have been worried when his calls, which had not been answered for three days, were returned via WhatsApp chat with messages purportedly cautioning her not to mount unnecessary pressure on him.
“Further prompting by the wife that she would reach out to the extended family to ask him why he abandoned the house was met by a promise to send money via POS. A sum of ₦15,300 was purportedly sent to a POS agent and not her account.
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“He also revealed that he owed two persons ₦9 million and ₦3 million within the association. But it was later discovered that those who abducted and killed him were the ones using his phone to chat with his worried wife,” a source said.
Friends and colleagues of the deceased were said to have reported the matter to the police, who deployed the Rapid Response Squad headed by CSP Bishop Elemide to the case.
“The RRS operatives, working on intelligence, cooperation of youths, and an eyewitness, discovered that two young men in a blue coloured saloon car had dragged the deceased out and taken him deep into the forest. What we heard later were two gunshots. And the two young men scampered into their car and left. We discovered that there was a struggle between the deceased and his killers, with his footwear found a few metres from where the body was discovered. We assisted in recovering the body. The place it was dumped was a swamp. His head was blown off by a gunshot,” an eyewitness said.
A senior police officer said the homicide department of the State Criminal Investigation Department may take over the case and is already working on two facts.
“We are looking at the fact that it may be a case of business deals gone wrong with members of his Association of Real Estate Consultants or that he may be involved in a cybercrime or money laundering deal that went wrong.”
