Four Get Death Sentence Over Broad-Daylight Benin Market Kidnap
A court in Edo State has handed down death sentences against four men convicted over the abduction of a woman at the Vegetable Market along Airport Road in Benin City.
The incident happened on June 14, 2026, when the victim was reportedly abducted in broad daylight.
The defendants — Marvellous Isaac, Wisdom Michael, Rufus Emete Michael and Gift Raphael — faced an 11-count charge covering offences including kidnapping, conspiracy, armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms.
The Edo State Special Criminal Court delivered the judgment on September 29, 2026, in what was described as its first kidnapping judgment.
Justice Aigbona Momodu convicted the defendants on the applicable charges and imposed the prescribed sentences.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of a pump-action firearm and cartridges tendered as exhibits, directing that they be handed over for destruction.
The case adds to the growing number of kidnapping prosecutions being handled under Edo State’s special criminal court system.
