For weeks, families held on to hope.
They prayed, negotiated, borrowed money, and made desperate sacrifices in the belief that their loved ones would return home alive.
Instead, they were met with a devastating reality.
In a heartbreaking breakthrough, operatives of the Edo State Police Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), under the direct supervision of the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, recovered the remains of two kidnap victims who were allegedly murdered by their captors despite the payment of millions of naira in ransom.
The grim discovery followed weeks of painstaking intelligence gathering and relentless investigation by the VCRU, a specialized anti-violent crime unit established under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, as part of ongoing efforts to combat kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, and other violent crimes across the country.
The breakthrough came after operatives led by CSP Osagie Godspower arrested 23-year-old Musa Haruna at Okada Junction, in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State.
Operatives of the VCRU had reportedly received intelligence that the suspect, who was nursing bullet wounds to his chest sustained in an earlier encounter with Osagie and his men, was attempting to flee the state.
During interrogation, Musa allegedly confessed to being a member of a notorious kidnapping gang that had engaged in a fierce gun battle with VCRU operatives on May 23, 2026, in the Ugwa Forest along the Benin-Lagos Road.
According to investigators, the suspect admitted that his gang was responsible for a series of kidnappings and armed robbery attacks that had turned sections of the Benin-Lagos Road and the Old Benin-Akure Road into corridors of fear for travellers and residents alike.
But perhaps the most painful revelation was his alleged confession regarding a mass abduction involving several victims who were kidnapped from different locations within Ovia North-East Local Government Area.
Among those abducted were Mrs. Emmanuel Annabel Osasere, 28; her mother, Mrs. Favor Nosakhar, 66; Mrs. Ehimwenma Osagie, 45; and others.
Police sources revealed that Annabel was eventually released after her family reportedly paid ₦11 million in ransom.
Her freedom gave relatives hope that the remaining victims would soon return.
That hope never came.
According to the suspect’s alleged confession, Mrs. Favor Nosakhar, Mrs. Ehimwenma Osagie, and another victim identified as Eno Usun were shot and killed by the kidnappers while still in captivity.
For their families, the uncertainty was agonizing. Days turned into weeks without answers.
Then came the breakthrough.
On June 2, 2026, Musa Haruna reportedly led CSP Osagie Godspower and his team deep into the forest to the exact location where the victims had been buried.
There, hidden beneath the earth in shallow graves, investigators recovered the remains of two of the victims.
The bodies were carefully evacuated and transported to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
The discovery has sent shockwaves across Edo State, reopening painful wounds for grieving families while highlighting the brutality of criminal gangs that continue to prey on innocent citizens.
Residents and community leaders have commended the professionalism, courage, and persistence of the VCRU team, whose weeks-long investigation eventually brought answers to families that had been desperately searching for closure.
Security observers have also praised the establishment of the Violent Crime Response Unit, describing it as one of the strategic interventions introduced under the leadership of IGP Disu to strengthen intelligence-led policing and confront emerging security threats.
While the recovery of the victims’ remains cannot erase the pain of their loss, many believe it has at least provided their families with the truth they had long sought and an opportunity to give their loved ones a dignified farewell.
Police authorities say investigations are continuing, with efforts underway to apprehend other members of the syndicate and dismantle the wider criminal network behind the kidnappings.
For the families left behind, however, the tragedy serves as a painful reminder of the human cost of insecurity—a cost measured not only in money paid as ransom but also in lives lost, dreams cut short, and loved ones who never made it home.
As Edo residents mourn the victims, the determination of the VCRU and the broader Nigeria Police Force offers hope that those responsible will be brought to justice and that communities living under the shadow of kidnapping can one day feel safe again.
