The Edo State Government has demolished a building allegedly owned by a suspected kidnap kingpin in Obagie-N’Evbuosa Community, Ikpoba-Okha Local Council Area of the state.

The demolition was carried out by the Principal Security Officer to Governor Monday Okpebholo, alongside security agencies and the Edo State Security Squad.

The squad’s spokesperson, Noah Idemudia, said the building had been identified as a hideout where kidnapped victims were allegedly kept before being moved to other locations.

“We are here to demolish this building identified as a den where kidnappers keep their victims. It served as a hideout before they were moved elsewhere,” he said.

According to Idemudia, the property belongs to the alleged leader of a kidnapping syndicate operating in the area. He identified the suspect as Solomon Johnson, who, he said, is from Delta State and is currently in police custody.

He alleged that the suspect and his gang had terrorised residents of Obagie-N’Evbuosa and recently demanded N11 million ransom for the release of a kidnapped victim.

He added that the gang allegedly planned to abduct the victim’s wife before security operatives arrested the suspect. Idemudia said the demolition was intended to serve as a warning to others involved in criminal activities.

MEANWHILE, worried by the rising insecurity in Edo State and across Nigeria, Benin traditional Priests, Priestesses and physicians (Ewaise), yesterday, laid deadly curses against violent criminals in the state and Nigeria.

The Guardian recalled that the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, had, on June 23, 2026, summoned the traditionalists and directed them to prepare their spiritual arsenal and to lay curses on criminal elements in the state and Nigeria.

During the summons, the Oba directed the traditional worshippers of various classifications in Benin to revert to the ancient traditional ways of resolving the security challenges.

Yesterday’s spiritual exercise, meant to complement the effort of governments in tackling the menace of insecurity, began with a procession from the Oba’s Palace’s main playground to the gate.

Decked in their regalia and traditional spiritual weapons, the worshippers converged at the main entrance of the Oba of Benin Palace, where they poured libations on the items and made highly-embedded propitiation and invoked ancestral spirits to bear witness against those seeking to destabilise the peace of Edo State.

SIMILARLY, the Oghara Study Group (OSG), a civic advocacy organisation representing the people of Oghara Kingdom in Ethiope West Local Council Area of Delta State, has sounded a strong warning over what it described as an alarming escalation of banditry, kidnappings, killings and other violent crimes, calling for immediate intervention by the Federal Government, Delta State Government and security agencies.

Speaking during a global press briefing on the worsening security situation in Oghara Kingdom, the group’s Convener, Rev. David Ugolor, alongside Prof. Ogheneruonah Eghweree, said armed criminal groups had effectively laid siege to several parts of the kingdom, leaving residents living in fear while economic and social activities continue to suffer.

The group urged authorities to act swiftly to prevent further loss of lives and restore public confidence, warning that failure to decisively address the worsening insecurity could deepen instability in the area and further threaten development across parts of Delta State.