The Delta State Police Command has arrested a security guard in connection with the murder of a retired High Court judge, Justice Ifeoma Okogwu (rtd).
The suspect, identified as Godwin Mngumi, 25, was arrested on December 6, 2025, by operatives of the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), following credible intelligence.
Confirming the arrest in a statement on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Bright Edafe, said the suspect was apprehended in Anambra State.
“On December 6, 2025, operatives of the Delta State Police Command, acting on intelligence, arrested one Godwin Mngumi, aged 25, the security guard who allegedly murdered Justice Ifeoma Okogwu (rtd),” Edafe stated.
He added that the mobile phone belonging to the late judge was recovered from the suspect at the time of his arrest.
According to the police spokesperson, Mngumi confessed to the crime and disclosed that he invited two other accomplices to the judge’s residence on the night of the attack.
“The suspect confessed that he invited his friend, one Nnaji Obalum, along with another suspect who is currently at large, to the residence where the crime was carried out,” Edafe said.
He further disclosed that Obalum has also been arrested, while police operatives have launched a manhunt for the third suspect who remains on the run.
Justice Okogwu, an Asaba-born retired judicial officer, was found dead in her residence behind The Pointer Newspaper premises in Asaba on Sunday, November 23, 2025. Her death was discovered under distressing circumstances that unsettled residents of the state capital.
Investigations revealed that the assailants tied the victim’s hands and legs before ransacking the house, an act police described as a violent and deliberate attack.
Suspicion had earlier centered on the night security guard attached to the residence, who reportedly disappeared shortly after the incident.
Speaking earlier, the victim’s brother, Ogbueshi Okogwu, expressed concerns over the circumstances surrounding the murder.
“My eldest sister was murdered in her house on Sunday night. We only got the information on Monday morning, so we believe it happened during the night,” he said.
“A major red flag was the disappearance of the night security guard. The morning guard claimed he met the gate wide open when he arrived and simply sat there. I don’t understand that at all,” he added.
Okogwu said the family handed over details of the private security company responsible for deploying the guards to the police, noting that the morning guard was detained while the owner of the security outfit was invited for questioning.
Police say investigations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspect and ensure that all those involved are brought to justice.
