Edo Farmer Murdered by Workers Over ₦900,000 Pineapple Sales

Tragedy struck the quiet community of Igueze in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State after a 56-year-old farmer, Henry Oyagbomwan, was gruesomely murdered by five of his farm workers over the proceeds of pineapple sales.

According to police sources, the incident occurred on May 13, 2025, shortly after Mr. Oyagbomwan reportedly sold pineapples worth ₦900,000 at his farm. The workers, now identified as suspects in the case, allegedly conspired to eliminate their employer, collected the cash from the sale, and murdered him in cold blood.

Following the killing, the suspects reportedly buried Mr. Oyagbomwan in a shallow grave within the same farmland and fled to various locations in southern Nigeria to evade arrest.

The incident came to light when the victim’s family raised an alarm over his sudden disappearance. In a shocking twist, police investigations revealed that the suspects initially attempted to demand ₦60 million ransom from the family, falsely claiming he had been kidnapped. The demand was later reduced to ₦300,000, after which communication was cut off.

The Edo State Police Command launched a manhunt, and a major breakthrough came when officers of the Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Unit tracked one of the suspects, Bassey Uyong Umeh, to a creek in Akwa Ibom State. He was promptly arrested and confessed to the crime during interrogation.

Based on the confession, our team was able to recover the decomposing remains of the deceased buried in a shallow grave on the farm,” a senior police officer confirmed.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Moses Yamu, who also confirmed the arrest, stated that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the four other suspects still at large.

“This is a very unfortunate incident, and the command is committed to ensuring justice is served. We are working with other security agencies to track down the remaining suspects,” Yamu said.

Late Mr. Oyagbomwan was a well-known farmer in the Igueze community, admired for his dedication to agriculture and pineapple farming. His untimely death has thrown the village into mourning, with community leaders calling for swift justice.