Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has declared he will sign death warrants for anyone convicted of kidnapping that results in a victim’s death, insisting he would do so even if the person were his own father or a close relative. He also said he would personally oversee the executions.
Speaking in a video shared by TheCable, the governor stressed the need to remove dangerous individuals from society so the system can function. He noted that while some people would die as a result of the policy, the kidnappers themselves are the ones causing deaths and trauma.
Okpebholo described the severe impact on victims, citing cases of intense fear that could prove fatal and an attack in which the state’s Chief Judge lost the use of one hand. He said he had already spoken with the state Attorney-General about the necessary paperwork and would continue pursuing cases through the appeals process rather than allowing convicts to go free.
His remarks come as Edo implements the Kidnapping Prohibition (Amendment) Law, 2025. The state House of Assembly passed the amendment in February 2025 and the governor signed it into law the same month. Under the law, kidnappings that result in a victim’s death carry the death penalty; those in which victims survive attract life imprisonment. Aiding or supporting such crimes is also punishable.
In September 2026 a special criminal court in Edo sentenced four men, Marvellous Isaac, Wisdom Michael, Rufus Emete Michael and Gift Raphael to death over the June 14, 2026 abduction of a woman at a vegetable market along Airport Road in Benin City. The governor has previously said he would sign warrants for convicted kidnappers who do not appeal within the required 30-day window. His administration has also set up a special court to speed up cases involving kidnapping and cultism.
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