A viral video shows the moment the victim drove into his compound unaware that danger lurked nearby.
Barely a day after residents of Ekpoma, the headquarters of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, staged a protest over the rising cases of kidnapping, gunmen struck again, abducting a man in a daring operation that was captured on CCTV.
A viral video shows the moment the victim drove into his compound unaware that danger lurked nearby.
Shortly after he parked his vehicle, armed men emerged from a bush behind the house, swooped on him and whisked him away to an unknown location.
The abduction occurred just a day after a mass protest rocked the town, with residents taking to the streets to demand urgent action from security agencies and the Edo State Government over the worsening insecurity.
In their anger, protesters pulled down campaign billboards already mounted across the town ahead of the 2027 general elections, accusing politicians of prioritising early campaigns over the safety and welfare of residents.
During the protest, a 32-year-old protester, identified as Osagie Abraham, was shot by a soldier.
But on Sunday, the Edo State Police Command said the police commissioner had ordered an immediate investigation into the shooting of Abraham, insisting that the victim was alive and receiving medical care.
In a statement issued on Sunday, January 11, 2026, the Command said the protest, which took place on Saturday, was initially planned as a peaceful demonstration but was hijacked by individuals who engaged in vandalism, looting, and other unlawful activities.
The protest was triggered by the abduction and killing of a young man on January 9, 2026, allegedly by suspected kidnappers.
According to the statement signed by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, the Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, personally visited Ekpoma during the protest and later led reinforcements from the Command Headquarters in Benin to restore order.
SaharaReporters previously reported that Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ekpoma, Edo State, had been captured in a viral video warning protesters that a “Hausa police officer” who would not tolerate dissent would replace him after his departure from the division.
In the footage circulating on social media, the officer is heard saying, “Don’t worry, I will leave Ekpoma, and they will bring a Hausa officer who won’t listen to anybody.”