Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have arrested suspects involved in the kidnapping of a woman at the Vegetable Market in Benin on Sunday, April 14, 2026. The victim was released two days after the incident.
Parade of Suspects
Parading the suspects in Benin on Thursday in the presence of Governor Monday Okpebholo, Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, said operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) Edo, acting on credible intelligence, successfully arrested one Marvelous Issac, aged 32, who was identified as a member of the kidnapping syndicate. Another suspect identified as Precious was neutralized following an exchange of gunfire with the police.
Also paraded were suspected kidnappers operating along the Benin-Lagos Highway, as well as a woman who faked her own kidnapping to extort money from family members. The commissioner disclosed that vehicles and funds were recovered from the suspects.
Recovered Items
Items recovered include a red Lexus RX 350 with registration number EKP 848 AE, which the suspect confessed was used in the kidnapping operation, one pump-action shotgun, two live cartridges, a cash sum of N2,250,000 suspected to be proceeds of crime, and one motorcycle. Investigation is ongoing with efforts intensified to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang.
Governor's Response
In his speech, Governor Okpebholo called for the establishment of a special court for kidnappers and cultists to fast-track their trials and possible convictions. He stated that he would not hesitate to sign the death warrant of anyone convicted and announced a financial reward for the security team that smashed the kidnap syndicate. He said his administration, in collaboration with security agencies, would continue to make the state uncomfortable for kidnappers and cultists.
Okpebholo recounted: Something very terrible happened on Sunday, and I called the Commissioner of Police, and I told him that whoever committed that crime of kidnapping inside Benin City must be arrested. Within 24 hours, those guys were caught. The money with which they pretended they wanted to pay ransom was also recovered, which was used to trace them, and in the process, there was an exchange of gunfire, and one of them was killed, two are still at large, and one is here. You can see that the police are working, the Army is working, the DSS are working. We are proposing a special court to try kidnappers and cultists so that in a matter of weeks, they will be done with it, and I will hesitate to sign the death warrant of any convict, and such a person will be paraded so that the people will see them, and this I will not have any regret about. Please don't take my simplicity for granted.
