Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has vowed to sign the death warrants of anyone convicted of kidnapping in the state, including his father, and has declared that he would personally supervise their execution.

Speaking in a video, the governor insisted that family ties would not stop him from approving the execution of convicted kidnappers.

“I pray our brothers are not involved because I will sign it. Even if it is my father, I will sign it. The truth is this: we just have to get some bad elements out of the system for the system to stand,” he said.

He added, “I stand, if I see this paper today, now, I will sign it and I will even supervise the killing.”

Okpebholo defended his position by emphasising the trauma endured by kidnapping victims, citing an incident in which a woman was allegedly pushed during an attempted abduction.

“Just look at the way they were pushing that woman down there. Supposing she d+ed at that, because of fear, only fear. It’s enough for her to die. People have gone through trauma,” he said.

He also alleged that the state’s Chief Judge suffered serious inj¥ries in an encounter with kidnappers, adding, “Even our chief judge, if you see our Chief Judge, one of his hands was cut off by kidnappers.”

The governor said he had contacted the state Attorney-General to confirm the status of the documents required for the executions, vowing to pursue the cases through the appeal process.

“We won’t just let them go like that. So we will get to wherever they stop; we will take them from there. We will not spare anybody,” he said.

His declaration follows the Edo State Kidnapping Prohibition (Amendment) Law, 2025, which prescribes capital punishment for certain kidn@pping offenses.

ASA