Alltimepost.com Sincerity of Purpose
Edo State Police Command has arrested a suspected member of a notorious kidnapping syndicate and recovered the decomposing body of one of three women abducted from their residence in Iyowa Community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area of the state.
The development was contained in a press release issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, dated June 2, 2026, and made available to journalists on Wednesday in Benin.
According to the statement, the victims, Mrs. Favour Nosakhare, 66, Mrs. Emmanuel Annabel Osasere, 28, and Miss Rejoice Otikpere, 26, were abducted on May 9, 2026, when armed kidnappers invaded their residence in Iyowa Community and whisked them into a nearby forest.
The police said the kidnappers later contacted members of the victims’ families through a video call during which the women were allegedly flogged and tortured while their captors demanded ransom for their release.
ASP Ikoedem stated that operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), working in collaboration with the Police Drone Unit, subsequently launched sustained rescue operations and aerial surveillance across identified forests and criminal hideouts in Ovia North-East and adjoining areas, leveraging intelligence gathering and technological resources.
The statement further disclosed that on May 19, 2026, operatives tracked members of the gang to a location along a powerline corridor within the forest.
The suspects reportedly engaged the police in a fierce gun battle but fled into the bush after being overwhelmed by superior police firepower, abandoning a blood-soaked jacket and expended AK-47 ammunition at the scene.
The Command’s spokesman said painstaking investigations later led to the arrest of one Musa Haruna, 23, who was allegedly found with a gunshot injury.
He was described by the police as a member of a criminal syndicate notorious for kidnapping and armed robbery activities along the Benin-Lagos Road and Old Benin-Akure Road corridors. My
During interrogation, Haruna reportedly confessed to his involvement in the abduction and subsequently led operatives to a thick forest in Ogwa Community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, where two decomposing bodies were recovered on June 2, 2026.
One of the bodies was identified by family members as that of Mrs. Favour Nosakhare, one of the women abducted during the May 9 incident.
ASP Ikoedem said that investigation is ongoing to apprehend other members of the syndicate still at large, adding that tactical and intelligence-driven operations had been intensified.
