RismadarVoice Reporters, June 9, 2026
A businesswoman has recounted how her 66-year-old mother was shot dead by kidnappers in a forest in Edo State after six days of captivity, torture and a ransom demand that eventually reached N11 million plus food, drinks, drugs and power banks.
Annabel Emmanuel was abducted alongside her mother, Mrs Favour Nosakhare, and a personal assistant on the evening of May 9, when armed men stormed her mother’s home in Iyowa, Ovia North East Local Government Area. The victims were marched through six forest locations over six days, eventually joined by three other families all held by a seven-man gang whose initial demand stood at N200 million.
When families could not meet the sum, torture followed. On May 15, the gang separated the elderly hostages and a 15-year-old boy. Shots were fired. A bullet passed through 45-year-old Stella and struck Mrs Nosakhare. Both women died. The teenager was also killed.
“I heard my mum’s voice. She was praying,” Annabel recalled. “Then she started breathing heavily. Then… I didn’t hear her breath again.”
Even after the killings, the gang escalated their demands requiring cash, 14 plates of rice and turkey, three grams of methamphetamine, soft drinks, suya and seven power banks before releasing the remaining hostages.
Police have arrested one suspect, 24-year-old Haruna Musa, who claims he was coerced into the gang at gunpoint. He led officers to the decomposing bodies of the two women on June 2. Edo State Police confirmed a gun duel with the gang on May 19, in which four suspects fled with bullet wounds. The remaining members are still being pursued.
Investigators are also examining allegations of local collaborators. A man in Esan South-West was recently arrested for allegedly running kidnapping operations from his home, which has since been demolished.
