Justice Aigbona Momodu of the Edo State Special Criminal Court has sentenced four persons to death for their involvement in the kidnapping of a woman at the Vegetable Market along Airport Road in Benin City.

The judgment was delivered on Tuesday in the court’s maiden judgment in a kidnapping case since its establishment.

The convicts were tried on an 11-count charge bordering on kidnapping, conspiracy, armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms.

The case arose from the broad-daylight abduction of the woman on June 14, 2026.

The Edo State Special Criminal Court came into being on July 1, 2026, to handle kidnapping and cultism-related cases and expedite the prosecution of violent crimes in the state.