The Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City has sentenced four men to death for kidnapping, membership of a secret cult and other violent crimes. The Special Criminal Court, led by Justice Terry Momodu Aigbona, delivered the judgment on Tuesday, September 29, after proceedings that lasted more than three hours. It ordered that the convicts be executed by hanging or lethal injection. The alleged gang leader, Isaac Marvellous, 32, was convicted on all 11 counts. The other three are Wisdom Michael, 36; Rufus Michael, 30; and Gift Raphael, 27.
The court also handed jail terms to other suspects tried in the case, and ordered that firearms recovered from the convicts as exhibits be handed over to the Federal Government.
A daylight abduction that shocked a market (the crime behind the verdict)
The case comes from the abduction of a woman at the Vegetable Market along Airport Road in Benin City on June 14, 2026, in broad daylight. CCTV footage of an abduction at the same market spread widely online. It shows armed men seizing a person.
The convicts faced an 11-count charge covering kidnapping, conspiracy, armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms. Some reports write the leader’s name as Marvellous Isaac and Rufus Michael as Rufus Emete Michael, so please check the spellings against the court record.
How the sentences were split (what each convict received)
The court gave different sentences on different counts. Isaac was sentenced to seven years on count one, death on counts two to nine, ten years on count ten and life imprisonment on count eleven. Rufus Emete Michael received seven years on count one and death on counts two, three, four, six and seven. Gift Raphael got seven years on count one and death on counts two, four, six and eight. The reports we found do not spell out Wisdom Michael’s count-by-count sentence.
Earlier kidnapping cases and the justice that followed
The Edo verdict is not the first death sentence for kidnappers in Nigeria. What sets it apart is how fast it came.
In July 2016, gunmen kidnapped Oba Goriola Oseni, the traditional ruler of Iba Kingdom in Lagos. They also killed a security guard and a motorcyclist, and shot the monarch’s wife. Four men were arraigned in October 2016, and a Lagos High Court sentenced them to death by hanging in November 2019. The death sentences were for the two killings. For the other offences, they received life imprisonment for shooting the monarch’s wife, life for armed robbery, and 21 years for kidnapping. The trial took more than three years.
In 2021, two men, Sani Mohammed and Babannan Saleh, were sentenced to death in Jigawa State. They were part of a syndicate behind several kidnappings and murders. They also received life imprisonment for robbery and three years for conspiracy.
In Ekiti State, a female NYSC member was abducted on April 22, 2022. On June 25, 2026, the Ekiti High Court sentenced two men to death by hanging for the crime. A third defendant was discharged because the court found insufficient evidence linking him to it. The case took more than four years.
A recent case moved much faster. On May 15, 2026, armed men kidnapped 39 schoolchildren and five teachers in Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State. The victims were rescued. Three suspects were arrested on July 12 and later sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja. They were tried on a 10-count charge that included kidnapping, concealment of information and terrorism-related offences.
These cases show a clear pattern. Convictions do happen, and courts have handed down some of the harshest penalties in the law. But many victims waited years for a verdict, and some defendants were freed for lack of evidence. The Edo court reached judgment in about three and a half months, which is why it stands out.
A judge who said the law left him no choice (mandatory sentencing)
A mandatory sentence is one where the law fixes the punishment and the judge cannot choose a lighter one. Justice Aigbona said the offences carry a mandatory death sentence under the Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition Law, and that this left him with no discretion. Blueprint reported that the judge reportedly broke down in tears as he delivered the judgment.
A new court moving quickly (the Special Criminal Court)
The Edo State Special Criminal Court was set up on July 1, 2026, to handle kidnapping and cultism cases and to speed up the trial of violent crimes. This is its first judgment in a kidnapping case. That means the case moved from abduction to verdict in about three and a half months.
Speed like this is unusual in Nigeria. In Lagos, four men were arraigned in October 2016 for the July 2016 kidnapping of a traditional ruler, Oba Goriola Oseni of Iba Kingdom. They were sentenced to death in November 2019, more than three years after the crime. In Ekiti, three men were sentenced to death in January 2026 for a robbery committed in March 2022, almost four years earlier.
A sentence that may not end in an execution (the death penalty in practice)
A death sentence in Nigeria does not mean quick execution. Convicts can appeal to higher courts, and inmates awaiting execution live in what is called death row. Prison officials have said appeals can leave convicts in long uncertainty, and some inmates have been executed more than 15 years after conviction.
The final step also depends on a governor signing an execution order. Only three governors have signed such warrants since the return to democracy in 1999. They are Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano in 2006, and Adams Oshiomhole and Godwin Obaseki of Edo, in 2012 and 2016. The last executions in Nigeria were carried out in Edo in 2016. Death row numbers have since grown to 3,688, according to the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Fear, money and slow justice (why kidnapping thrives)
Kidnapping survives where it pays and where punishment is uncertain. Ransom is a fast way to make large sums. Gangs also use secret cults as networks that supply members, weapons and loyalty. Slow trials give criminals time to threaten witnesses, and many victims fear coming forward.
This is why the speed of the Edo court matters. If gangs believe they will be caught and tried within months, the risk of the crime goes up. If they believe a case will drag on for years, the risk goes down.
Damage to victims and to the country (effects of kidnapping)
The first effect is on the victim, who faces fear, violence and trauma, and on the family, which faces ransom demands. Communities also change how they live, such as avoiding markets, roads or night travel. In this case, the abduction happened in a busy market in daylight, and that shocked many residents.
At the national level, kidnapping raises the cost of doing business. It makes farmers, traders and travellers afraid, drives away investors, and pushes people to pay for private security. It also weakens public trust in the police and the courts when suspects are not tried on time.
Making justice both fast and fair (possible solutions)
Other states can learn from the Edo court’s speed by giving kidnapping and cult cases dedicated judges, clear timelines and enough staff. Police must build strong evidence and protect witnesses, so that trials rest on solid proof. Prisons need to be able to hold the convicted safely.
There are also questions about the punishment itself. Some people believe a death sentence sends a strong warning. Others argue that a mandatory death penalty removes a judge’s power to weigh each person’s role, and that Nigeria has not executed anyone since 2016. Both sides agree on one thing: convictions must be based on strong proof and fair trial, because a wrong verdict cannot be undone.
Speed and certainty may matter more than the sentence
We understand why many people will welcome this judgment. Kidnapping has brought fear and loss to many families, and a fast verdict sends a message to criminals. We also note that the court moved from crime to judgment in a few months, and that this is what victims and communities have long asked for.
But the case leaves questions. The convicts still have the right to appeal, and the sentence cannot be carried out without further steps. The law also left the judge with no choice about the penalty. In our view, the lasting lesson is about certainty. Crime falls when criminals know they will be caught, tried quickly and punished fairly, whatever the sentence. If Edo can keep that pace while protecting fair trials, it will have set a useful example for the rest of Nigeria.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
