Edo Community Gripped by Fear as Kidnapping Surge Sees Siblings Abducted for ₦10M Ransom
A palpable wave of fear has once again descended upon the residents of Okpella community in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. This follows the abduction of two siblings on Tuesday. Gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, reportedly seized the brother and sister. Additionally, sources confirmed the pair were ambushed on their way to their farm in the Iniamune area of Okpella. The kidnappers have since made contact. They demand a staggering ₦10 million ransom for their safe return. Indeed, this is not an isolated crime. It is rather a terrifying new chapter in a persistent, escalating security crisis besieging the region. Hardworking residents must now choose between their livelihoods and their lives.
A Pattern of Fear Targets Livelihoods
The brazen Monday abduction sent fresh shockwaves through the community. It strikes at the heart of the local agrarian economy. Consequently, farmers are now terrified to visit their own farmlands, the primary income source for many families in the area. This event compounds the climate of fear that has built for weeks. Just last week, for instance, someone kidnapped another resident from the same local government on their way to the market. This emerging pattern demonstrates a chilling strategy. Criminal elements are now systematically targeting civilians as they engage in basic commerce and agricultural activities. As a result, ruthless gangs watch the roads connecting homes to farms and markets. These routes, once economic lifelines, are now perceived as high-risk zones.
Legislative Alarms, Rapid Escalation
This rising tide of insecurity in Etsako East is not new. In fact, official channels have long known of the growing threat. Back in early September, the alarming frequency of kidnappings and armed robberies prompted action at the state’s highest legislative level. The Edo State House of Assembly, during a plenary session, passed a resolution. It urged the state government and all relevant security agencies to take immediate and decisive steps to curb the menace. This resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance from Kingsley Ugabi, the lawmaker representing the Etsako East Constituency. Mr. Ugabi painted a grim picture of the situation. He highlighted the distress and terror his constituents faced daily. The resolution’s passage was a clear, official acknowledgment of the crisis. However, the following weeks proved the threat was far from neutralized.
A Coordinated, Deadly Assault
In fact, just days after the legislative call for action, the crisis escalated dramatically. It demonstrated the sheer audacity of the criminal networks operating in the area. In mid-September, the Okpella community became the scene of a brutal and deadly assault. A convoy of gunmen launched a coordinated attack. They killed eight personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the BUA Cement factory located in Okpella. During the same bloody incident, the assailants successfully abducted a Chinese expatriate working with the company. The abduction consequently sparked an international incident. On the very same day, kidnappers abducted passengers travelling in an Edo Line transport bus and another Toyota Corolla car. This brazen act happened along the notorious Benin-Auchi Road, a major artery that passes near the troubled region. Altogether, this coordinated violence signaled a new, more militaristic phase of the security challenge. It overwhelmed local security and sparked a massive manhunt.
Security Forces Discover Forest Hideouts
Following that devastating attack, state security outfits launched a series of counter-offensives. Operatives combed the vast forests and bushlands that straddle the area. They particularly focused on the Benin-Akure corridor and reported discovering several abandoned camps. Security forces believed these hideouts were the kidnappers’ operational bases, complete with armouries of locally fabricated weapons. This discovery confirmed what locals had long suspected. Specifically, the forests surrounding their communities had been converted into staging grounds for sophisticated criminal syndicates. Despite these tactical successes, the criminal networks, rooted deep within the difficult terrain, proved resilient. Ultimately, the fight for control of the area became a full-blown bush war between state forces and entrenched, heavily armed gangs.
Major Breakthrough: 70 Suspects Arrested
A significant breakthrough occurred in mid-October, approximately three weeks ago. Operatives of the NSCDC, in a massive, coordinated sting operation with support from the Nigerian Army and the BUA Cement Company, descended on criminal hideouts in Okpella. The operation resulted in the arrest of a staggering 70 suspects. These individuals were reportedly linked to a litany of crimes, including kidnapping, rape, and providing logistical support to abduction gangs. Moreover, the NSCDC reported that many of the suspects posed as illegal miners and charcoal vendors. They used these activities as a cover to gather intelligence and mask their true operations. Officials hailed the arrests as a major victory in dismantling the kidnapping infrastructure in Etsako East.
A Rescued Victim’s Harrowing Account
The operation’s success brought more than just arrests. It brought freedom for captives and harrowing firsthand accounts of their ordeal. Mrs. Agbe Matar was among those rescued. She recounted a story that mirrors the latest abduction. For example, abductors seized her and her sister-in-law while they worked on their rice farm in the Ichoke area of Itsukwi, a community neighboring Okpella. Her abductors, she stated, were men disguised as herders. They demanded a ₦30 million ransom. Furthermore, the men subjected her and her relative to days of torture and starvation before security forces located their camp and secured their release. Her testimony provided direct evidence of the *modus operandi* that has become all too familiar to residents: armed men, often described as herders, targeting farmers on their land.
Local leadership is caught between reassuring their people and pleading for more help. Following the rescue of Mrs. Matar and the arrest of the 70 suspects, the Paramount Ruler of Itsukwi Kingdom, His Royal Highness Usman Suleiman, the Ogei-Ochi III, publicly praised the NSCDC and its partners. He lauded their efforts in restoring a measure of calm to the area. In addition, he called for sustained collaboration between security agencies, traditional institutions, and local vigilante groups. He stressed this was the only path to lasting security. His plea underscored the community’s desperation for a permanent solution, not just intermittent operations.
Flashpoint: A Troubling Assailant Profile
The recurring description of the assailants as “suspected herdsmen” has become a flashpoint. Security officials often warn against ethnic profiling. However, testimony from victims and community leaders points to a specific, identifiable threat. This concern is not limited to Okpella. Just 23 days ago, in the neighboring Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, kidnappers abducted a retired headmaster, Mr. Eliaser Olorunloju. His abductors later demanded a ₦70 million ransom. Comrade Victor Arogunyo, a local community initiative leader, spoke publicly on the incident. He explicitly blamed “criminal herders” and the dilapidated state of the Igarra–Uneme-Nekhua–Ibillo Road. Worse still, he noted that Mr. Olorunloju’s abduction was the fifth such incident to occur at the exact same spot. This spot is located perilously close to a known Fulani settlement.
Indeed, the Okpella-Auchi road and its surrounding villages have become a theater for a relentless series of abductions and rescues. About 36 days ago,for instance, kidnappers seized a newly called-to-bar lawyer, Peace Onyesom, and her sister, Gift. They were returning from the call-to-bar ceremony in Abuja. Their terrifying ordeal ended when the military rescued them “near a village in Okpella.” Months earlier, in April, police operatives had rescued 17 passengers from an 18-seater bus. The bus was ambushed at 3:30 a.m. near Ebirra Camp, also along the Okpella-Auchi road. The frequency of these incidents, from large-scale bus abductions to the targeted kidnapping of professionals and now, local farmers, paints a picture of a region under siege.
Police Command Details Ongoing Battle
For its part, the Edo State Police Command has actively engaged in this running battle. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Moses Yamu, has briefed the public on several occasions about the force’s operations. The command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, has announced several successes. These include the rescue of 16 abducted passengers in one operation and the rescue of Elohor Osifoh in another after days of relentless bush combing. Operatives have also successfully foiled other attempted abductions, often engaging gunmen in shootouts. However, the continuous stream of new kidnappings, including the latest abduction of the two siblings, demonstrates a harsh reality. For every gang dismantled, another seems to emerge, adapting its tactics to prey on the most vulnerable.
Community on Edge, Economy Paralyzed
The socioeconomic impact of this protracted crisis is severe. An academic paper analyzing security challenges in Edo State specifically identified a long-standing threat: the potential for “incursion by Muslim Fulani herdsmen” and the resulting conflict with local farming communities. Experts say organized criminal enterprises have hijacked what was once a localized resource conflict. As a result, these groups exploit existing tensions. Now, the local economy is grinding to a halt. Farmers are abandoning their harvests for fear of abduction. Traders are avoiding market days. Fear dominates the highways. In short, the local populace is trapped, unable to pursue their livelihoods without risking their lives.
As of this report, the family of the two abducted siblings faces an agonizing choice. They are confronted with a ₦10 million ransom demand they likely cannot meet. The community of Okpella is holding its breath, praying for another successful rescue operation but fearing the worst. The abduction, coming so soon after the celebrated arrest of 70 suspects, serves as a grim reminder. The war against kidnapping in Edo North is far from over. Instead, it is a resilient, deeply embedded criminality that continues to tear at the fabric of the community, one terrified family at a time. The residents of Etsako East are waiting, desperately, for a final end to the terror.
