The Delta State Police Command has announced a major breakthrough in the investigation into the murder of retired High Court Judge, Justice Ifeoma Okogwu.
According to the Command, the late judge’s mobile phone was recovered from 25-year-old Godwin Mngumi, who was arrested in Anambra State after weeks of intensive tracking.
Police spokesperson Bright Edafe, in a statement released on Sunday, confirmed that officers apprehended Mngumi—the night security guard who allegedly murdered the retired judge—on December 6, 2025. Edafe added that the recovered phone served as a crucial piece of evidence linking the suspect to the crime.
During interrogation, Mngumi allegedly confessed to inviting two accomplices, identified as Nnaji Obalum and another suspect still on the run, to the judge’s residence where the attack was carried out. Obalum has since been arrested, while a manhunt for the third suspect is underway.
Justice Okogwu, an Asaba-born former judicial officer, was found dead on November 23 at her residence behind The Pointer Newspapers in Asaba. She was discovered under harrowing circumstances, with her legs and hands bound, and her home ransacked—signs pointing to a violent and premeditated attack.
Suspicion initially fell on the night security guard after he disappeared immediately following the incident. The victim’s brother, Ogbueshi Okogwu, raised concerns about the guards’ activities, questioning why the morning guard claimed he simply “sat at the open gate” upon finding the premises unsecured.
The family also provided police with details of the private security company responsible for deploying the guards, prompting the detention of the morning guard and the invitation of the company’s owner for questioning.
The tragic killing recalls a similar high-profile case in October 2023, when the Benue State Police Command arrested four suspects in connection with the murder of retired Justice Margaret Igbetar, allegedly over a family inheritance dispute.
