A 26-year old Lady, Miss Annabelle Emmanuel, has narrated how kidnappers killed her mother and two other victims even after payment of N11m ransom and 14 plates of rice.

Annabelle and her late mother, Favour Nosakhare, aged 66, were abducted on May 9th, 2026 from their residence in Iyowa Community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State by armed men and forced into the forest.

The kidnappers abducted other victims and tortured their victims to force their families to pay.

Besides Annabelle’s mother, the kidnappers killed two other victims including a 16-year old boy.

According to her, “They carried us in my mum’s house. We trekked all night and entered power line. They started adding other people to us. They brought three other families.

“We slept at six different places. They torture us whenever our relatives said the ransom was much.

“One day, they called my mum and another woman and asked about their ages. After that, they called our families but got provoked and started debating whether to kill us.

“In the evening, they moved mother, another woman and a 16-year old boy further from us. We were seeing them. We saw them shot them. They brought the 15 years old back and he told us they are dead.

“Not up to five minutes, they carried the boy and later shot him. They took us to the burrow pit before they finally release us. They collected ransom and other things like 14 plates of rice and turkey

“We paid N11m, two big school bags, three grammes of Ice, five crates of Fanta and bullets. They collected seven power banks, and other things from other families.”

Narrating their ordeal in the kidnappers’s den, Annabelle said they were made to trek for several days.

She spoke when one of the kidnappers, 23-year-old Musa Haruna led police operatives to where the victims were killed and dumped.

Edo Police spokesman, Eno Ikoedem, said a video call during which the women were seen being brutally flogged and tortured while their captors demanded ransom for their release. galvanized the Edo State Police Command into intensive efforts towards rescue of the victims and apprehending the perpetrators.

Ikoedem said operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), in collaboration with the Drone Unit, commenced sustained rescue operations and on May 19th, busted the gang along powerline within the forest.

According to her, “The suspects engaged the police in a fierce gun duel but were overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the operatives. As a result the hoodlums fled into the bush with gunshot injuries. A blood-soaked jacket and expended AK-47 ammunition were recovered from the scene, while surveillance and tracking operations were further intensified.

“The painstaking investigation subsequently led to the arrest of Haruna, a member of the syndicate notorious for kidnapping and armed robbery activities along the Benin-Lagos Road and Old Benin-Akure Road corridors.

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to his involvement in the crime and led operatives into a thick forest at Ogwa Communitynwhere two decomposing bodies were recovered.

“One of the bodies has been identified as that of Mrs. Favour Nosakhare by the family and one of the victims abducted during the incident of 9th May, 2026.” (The Nation)

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