Gunmen have snatched nine members of one family—including a nursing mother and several children—along the Benin-Akure Road in Edo State.
The attack happened around 5 p.m. on Monday, February 2, 2026, at Eko-Abeku-Iyowa Road in Evboneka while the group was heading home from school.
Family head Festus Bamidele said heavy rain that evening persuaded the kidnappers to free the mother and her baby. The rest of the family realised what had happened only when the woman stepped back into the house.
Vigilantes and police later rescued three pre-kindergarten pupils, but four relatives—aged 11 to 26—are still captive. The list includes Bamidele’s two children, his younger sister and his sister-in-law.
“The kidnappers have contacted us and are demanding N260 million ransom,” Bamidele told PUNCH Metro.
Edo Police Command spokesperson SP Eno Ikoedem confirmed the incident. Officers from the Ekiadolor Division exchanged fire with the gunmen during a rescue bid, she said. Five hostages came out unhurt; the fleeing gang dragged the other four deeper into the bush.
Ikoedem added that the command, supported by local hunters and vigilantes, is combing the forest to track the kidnappers and free the remaining captives. The operation is part of a wider push to dismantle criminal networks statewide.
PUNCH Metro had earlier reported the arrest of 13 suspected kidnappers and vandals in separate raids, with three abductees rescued under the orders of Commissioner of Police Monday Agbonika.
