By Emmanuel Kwada
In a chilling display of jungle justice, an irate mob in Emu Orakwan community, Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State, beat three suspected kidnappers to death on Sunday, October 6, escalating tensions in a region plagued by rising insecurity.
The suspects, believed to be linked to the brutal murder of a local woman just days earlier, were set upon by hunters and farmers before security forces could intervene, highlighting the growing frustration of communities taking the law into their own hands.
Eyewitnesses and community sources reported that the deadly confrontation unfolded around 5 p.m. near Akabueze camp, a remote area frequented by hunters and farmers. The suspects were reportedly spotted loitering suspiciously in the bush, prompting immediate alarm among locals already on edge from a spate of kidnappings and violent crimes.
According to villagers, the trio was among a gang accused of the horrific killing of Mrs. Ogbona, a mother of three, on October 1. Her body was discovered in a nearby farm with multiple stab wounds, sparking outrage and vows of retribution from residents.
“These animals have been terrorizing us for months—kidnapping our women, demanding ransoms we can’t pay, and now this,” said a farmer who witnessed the mob’s fury but declined to be named for fear of reprisals. “When we saw them, we knew we couldn’t wait for the police anymore. They murdered Mrs. Ogbona in cold blood; no one was going to let them escape justice.”
Word of the suspects’ presence spread like wildfire through Emu Orakwan, a agrarian community of about 5,000 people nestled in Edo’s dense forests. Within minutes, dozens of villagers, armed with machetes, sticks, and farm tools, mobilized and descended on the camp.
The suspects, caught off-guard and outnumbered, were subjected to a savage beating that left them severely injured and bleeding profusely. By the time a joint team of army troops and police personnel arrived—alerted by frantic calls from the scene—the men were barely alive, gasping their last breaths on the blood-soaked ground.
Security operatives, including personnel from the 4th Brigade Garrison in Benin City, rushed the victims to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in nearby Irrua. Despite frantic efforts by medical staff, the three men—whose identities have not yet been officially released—were pronounced dead on arrival.
Their bodies were subsequently deposited at the Imiuwuguina Mortuary for autopsy, as investigations into both the lynching and the suspects’ alleged crimes continue.
Edo State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident in a statement late Tuesday, describing it as a “tragic breakdown in law and order.” He urged residents to refrain from vigilante actions, warning that such mob justice not only endangers lives but also complicates ongoing probes.
“We understand the pain and fear gripping our communities, but taking the law into one’s hands is never the solution. It risks innocent lives and allows real criminals to slip away in the chaos,” Nwabuzor said. The police have arrested five individuals suspected of leading the mob and are combing the area for potential accomplices.
This latest episode of mob violence comes amid a surge in kidnapping cases across Edo’s Esan axis, where porous borders with Delta and Kogi states have made the region a hotbed for criminal gangs. Just last month, two farmers were abducted in a similar bush raid, only to be released after a N5 million ransom was paid.
Rights groups, including the Edo Civil Society Network, condemned the killings while calling for urgent government intervention. “While we mourn Mrs. Ogbona and sympathize with her family, this cycle of vengeance must stop. Communities deserve better policing, not bloodshed,” said network coordinator, Mrs. Eki Imafidon.
Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration has pledged to bolster security in the area, including deploying more rapid-response teams and community patrols. In a statement from Government House, the governor decried the incident as “a symptom of our collective failure to protect the vulnerable” and promised swift justice for Mrs. Ogbona’s killers—provided they can be apprehended without further vigilante interference.
As Emu Orakwan buries its dead and licks its wounds, the specter of jungle justice looms large, a grim reminder that in the absence of swift institutional response, desperation breeds deadly retribution. Authorities are appealing for calm as forensic teams scour the Akabueze camp for evidence, hoping to unravel the web of crime that has ensnared this once-peaceful enclave.
