Edo governor pledges to sign death warrants for convicted kidnappers, pushes for public execution

• Edo Governor, Monday Okpebholo, says he will sign death warrants for convicted kidnappers.

• He plans to create a special court to conclude kidnapping and cultism cases within two weeks.

• The governor also rewarded police officers with N10 million after the rescue of a kidnapped woman.

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has declared that he will sign death warrants for convicted kidnappers and have them publicly executed, as part of an intensified crackdown on insecurity in the state.

Speaking in Benin City during a visit to the Edo Police Command Headquarters, the governor said he would set up a special court dedicated to trying kidnappers and cultists, with cases to be resolved within two weeks. Convicts, he said, would then be taken to the Ring Road roundabout in Benin City and hanged in full view of the public.

"I will sign it, the execution by hanging. I will take you to the roundabout that is Ring Road roundabout so that the whole Edo people will see you," Okpebholo said, adding that he would have no regrets carrying out the punishment.

The governor's comments came as he inspected suspects recently arrested over the broad-daylight kidnapping of a woman at the Vegetable Market along Airport Road. Among those paraded was 32-year-old Marvellous Issac, whose gang allegedly abducted the victim and collected a N2.2 million ransom. 

Police recovered a Lexus RX350, a pump-action shotgun, ammunition and a motorcycle from the suspects. One gang member was killed during the arrest operation, while two others remain at large.

Okpebholo said the swift arrest, within 24 hours of the kidnapping, showed that security agencies in the state were working, pushing back against suggestions that the federal government has failed to tackle insecurity. He credited support from the Inspector General of Police, including drone technology, for aiding the operation.

The governor rewarded the police squad involved in rescuing the kidnapped woman with N10 million and warned that anyone sheltering criminals in the state would not be spared.

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Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, praised the coordination between police, the DSS and other security agencies, but also flagged a separate concern: a wave of fake news reports claiming schools in the state were under attack by kidnappers. 

Agbonika said investigations showed the reports were false, though they had already caused panic among parents. He also warned against the rise of self-kidnapping schemes, which he described as a punishable offence increasingly seen in the state.

Okpebholo, who has positioned himself as tough on crime since taking office, said no kidnapper would find safety in Edo. "Do not take my simplicity for granted," he warned.