Edo Special Court Condemns Four to Death for High-Profile Market Abduction

​In a landmark ruling that marks the first major judgment from the newly established tribunal, the Edo State Special Criminal Court in Benin City has sentenced a four-member kidnapping syndicate to death by hanging or lethal injection.

​The presiding judge, Justice Aigbona Terry Momodu, handed down the severe sentences on Tuesday after finding the defendants guilty on a grueling 11-count charge that included kidnapping, conspiracy, armed robbery, and the unlawful possession of firearms.

​The convicts—identified as gang leader Marvelous Isaac, 32; Gift Raphael, 27; Wisdom Michael, 36; and Rufus Emete Michael, 30—were prosecuted following a brazen daylight abduction that sent shockwaves through the Edo State capital.

​According to trial records, the syndicate targeted a woman at the bustling Vegetable Market located off Airport Road in Benin City. Arriving in an SUV, the gunmen pounced on the victim while she was accompanied by her husband and children. Though her husband narrowly managed to escape the scene, the victim was forcefully whisked away, sparking widespread public outcry after viral video footage captured by a terrified eyewitness exposed the violent incident.

​The daylight attack prompted swift executive action from Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo, who subsequently established the Special Court specifically to fast-track the prosecution of violent crimes, kidnapping, and cultism.

​During the three-hour court session, Justice Momodu held that the prosecution successfully established a watertight case, proving all charges beyond a reasonable doubt. In addition to the capital punishment decreed for multiple counts, varying prison terms—including a seven-year sentence for count one—were handed down to individual defendants.

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​Furthermore, the court ordered the absolute forfeiture of recovered operational exhibits, including a JoJef pump-action rifle along with expended and unexpended cartridges. Justice Momodu directed that these items be handed over to the Edo State Police Command armory for complete destruction within thirty days.

​Defense counsels representing the convicts have already indicated intentions to challenge the historic verdict at the Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, legal analysts view the swift delivery of justice as a defining litmus test for the state government’s aggressive legislative and security campaign against violent syndicates.