By Evelyn Usman
From the rugged hills of Sambisa to the deep forests of Zamfara, Nigerians have watched the menace of kidnapping spread like wildfire. But few imagined it would one day settle in the lush, fertile forests of Edo State, the Heartbeat of the Nation and its sister, Delta, the Big Heart.
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Today, what was once a movie scene has become a living nightmare. From Agenebode to Ekpoma, Uromi to Auchi, and Afuze to Ekwotsor, fear now walks freely where laughter once lived. Families whisper their prayers at night, farmers abandon their hoes, and the forests that once fed the people have turned into fields of fear.
Security agents’ efforts
The Edo State Police Command and the Nigerian Army deserve commendation for their renewed vigor and coordinated operations in tackling kidnapping and other violent crimes across the state. Report shows that between May and July 2025 alone, the Command arrested over 40 suspects in connection with kidnapping in areas such as Jattu, Auchi, Ekpoma, Igbanke, and Ikoro. These arrests, often carried out under intense pressure and dangerous conditions, led to the recovery of weapons, charms, and communication gadgets used by criminal syndicates.
Under the leadership of Commissioner of Police Monday Agbonika, the Command’s Community Safety Partnership Initiative has strengthened collaboration with vigilante groups and local communities, resulting in several successful rescue operations and the prosecution of offenders.
However, while these achievements are commendable, much more needs to be done to confront the complex reality of crime in some parts of Edo’s vast forests, which have become safe havens for kidnappers and bandits. The dense vegetation stretching across Etsako, Esan, and Ovia areas continues to shield criminal cells, making surveillance and rapid response difficult.
Yahoo boys’ connivance
Investigations into the growing wave of abductions have uncovered a disturbing alliance between suspected Fulani herders and some local Yahoo boys operating within the affected communities. These Yahoo boys, mostly youths between the ages of 20 and 35 live among the people, many born and raised in the same communities they now betray. Residents say their unholy alliance with kidnappers has fueled sudden wealth, with sprawling new houses springing up across major towns in the state.
In nearby Ayogwiri community, a woman and her daughter were ambushed while returning from the farm. The woman escaped with machete cuts, but her 12-year-old daughter was whisked away. The kidnappers demanded N5 million. For four nights, the villagers prayed by moonlight until she was rescued on the fifth night in Etsako East. One of the kidnappers, who identified himself as Lukemon, was arrested during the ransom handover. The suspect revealed that some Yahoo boys in Ayogwiri had tipped off the gang, pointing out victims to abduct for “quick cash.”
Auchi’s abduction
In Auchi, a lady’s graduation turned into a nightmare in October. Aisha, a fresh graduate of the Federal Polytechnic, was kidnapped near Igbira Camp just days after her convocation. A video of Aisha in the kidnappers’ den surfaced last week, where she was seen pleading passionately to Nigerians to raise the ¦ 20 million ransom demanded by her captors, with an AK-47 rifle placed on her left shoulder by one of them. She was, however, rescued and picked up from Okpella, indicating a long, terrifying trek from Auchi.
Seminarians still in captivity
While Aisha is still recovering from her ordeal, the fate of two minor seminarians abducted from the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary, Ivhianokpodi-Agenebode, still hangs in the balance. The boys have now spent 115 harrowing days in captivity since their abduction on July 10, 2025.
Like Aisha’s case, news of their abduction broke with the emergence of a disturbing viral video showing the children in visible distress—clutching what appeared to be a human skull and surrounded by gun-wielding men believed to be their captors. In the footage, the boys were seen tearfully pleading for their freedom, a haunting scene that has deepened public anxiety over the growing insecurity in Edo North.
Sadly, little or nothing has been heard about their case since then. One of the Reverend Fathers, who spoke with Saturday Vanguard, lamented: “They are asking for several millions, which we don’t have.”
Latest kidnap
In what appears to be the latest in a string of abductions rocking the Afemai region of the state, Miss Ayeni Joy was kidnapped on Wednesday at about 3 p.m. near the NIFOR area, close to the Aso Rock Police checkpoint along the Benin–Sobe–Akure road, while returning from Afuze. According to reports, twelve passengers were taken by the assailants, while the driver and two breastfeeding mothers were spared. The kidnappers are said to be demanding a ransom of N20 million for Joy’s release.
LG Chairman leads rescue team
In what has been described as a bold and commendable act of leadership, the Acting Chairman of Etsako East Local Government Council, Sunny Ekpeson, personally led a joint security operation into the forests around Ekwotsor and Ekperi to rescue two kidnapped victims on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. The victims: a man from Ekperi, for whom the abductors had demanded N20 million, and Mr. Anthony Ibrahim from Ekwotsor, were successfully freed after a coordinated effort involving the Army, Police, and local vigilante groups.
The operation followed a distress call reporting a violent incursion by kidnappers into Ekwotsor community, which tragically left one person dead and two others abducted. Speaking to journalists after the operation, Ekpeson declared, ”Not in my administration will kidnappers continue to terrorize my people.”
Voices of fear, faith
Fear has become a constant shadow from Afowa to Jattu, and across the quiet stretches of Uzairue Kingdom,a reality that traditional rulers say can no longer be ignored. Speaking with deep concern, the Ovba of Afowa Community, Alelumeh Imokhai, said the spate of abductions had reached a frightening level that demands urgent government intervention.
Addressing growing suspicions that some locals might be aiding the kidnappers, Imokhai revealed that the Uzairue Traditional Council, under the authority of the Ogieneni of Uzairue, HRM Kadiri Omogbai, had placed traditional curses on any indigene found collaborating with the criminals.
Calling on the government to intervene, he said: ”In my status as the Chairman of the Uzairue Security Committee, I urge the government of Edo State under Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo not to be complacent about the ugly situation but to approach the phenomenon with all seriousness needed to curb the menace of kidnapping. I call on the two Uzairue Kingdom vigilante groups of Iyamoh and Jattu divisions to evolve ways of halting the menace.
“However, the situation calls for financial assistance for fueling and maintaining the vehicles used by the vigilante groups. In one week, we have to fuel about six vehicles for use.”
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