The Edo State Special Criminal Court sitting in Benin City has delivered its first kidnapping judgment, sentencing four defendants to death on several counts arising from the abduction of a woman at the Vegetable Market along Airport Road.
Justice Aigbona Momodu delivered the judgment on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after the defendants were tried on an 11-count charge involving kidnapping, conspiracy, armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms.
The defendants are Marvellous Isaac, Wisdom Michael, Rufus Emete Michael and Gift Raphael.
The case followed the broad-daylight abduction of a woman at the Vegetable Market on June 14, 2026.
While the defendants received different sentences on the various counts, death sentences were imposed on several counts against each of them. Isaac also received 10 years imprisonment on one count and life imprisonment on another.
The court further ordered the confiscation of a JoJef pump-action firearm and four cartridges tendered as exhibits, directing that they be handed over to the Edo State Police Armourer for destruction within 30 days.
The judgment is the maiden kidnapping verdict of the Edo State Special Criminal Court, established to handle kidnapping and cultism-related cases and accelerate the prosecution of violent crimes in the state.