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CCTV has captured the moment a hair vendor in Benin City, Edo State, was allegedly robbed by armed individuals who made away with luxury wigs reportedly worth millions of naira.

The incident occurred on Saturday at a hair shop located on Tony Anenih Road, off Ebenezer School Road, Ihama, GRA, Benin City.

According to the shop owner, who operates the Instagram account @official.pricelessstrands, the suspects had visited the shop a day earlier pretending to make enquiries about getting a customer’s hair done.

She said they returned a few hours later and carried out the robbery after another man, allegedly armed with a gun, arrived at the premises.

Sharing clearer CCTV footage of the incident on Instagram, the vendor alleged that the suspects initially sat in the waiting area, pretending they were waiting for a third person to make payment for a braiding session.

She wrote that as soon as the man arrived with a gun, the group began the operation.

According to her account, the robbers forced the two staff members on duty into an inner office where the shop’s more expensive luxury hair products were stored. They then packed several bags containing wigs and other hair products before locking the employees inside the office and fleeing the scene.

The business owner said one of the suspects was captured clearly on the CCTV footage, while another suspect, described as a woman wearing a black top with a noticeable facial scar, had also visited the shop the previous day under the guise of making enquiries.

She appealed to members of the public to help identify the suspects by sharing the CCTV footage widely on social media.

«”This is the face of one of the armed robbers who just robbed my office. Himself and the scar-faced lady on black top came yesterday in the guise of making enquiries about making her hair, only for them to return today to rob the office and loot hairs worth millions in several bags,” she said.»

The hair vendor called on security agencies and residents of Benin City to assist in identifying and apprehending those responsible for the robbery.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement from the Edo State Police Command regarding the incident or whether any arrests had been made.

The CCTV footage has since been circulated online as the shop owner seeks public assistance in bringing the suspects to justice.

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Tears flow as gunmen in military-styled uniforms invaded four villages in Niger State’s remote Borgu Local Government Area moments after Friday prayers, leaving more than 40 people dead and over 100 abducted in what residents are calling the deadliest attack in the area this year.

The rampage tore through Dekara, Gidan Zana, Sabon Gida, and Masaka — communities tucked along the border with Kebbi, Kwara, and the Republic of Benin.

Witnesses told the BBC the attackers rode into Dekara right after worshippers left the mosque.

“They gathered people in the open, picked out men, women and children, and marched them into the forest,” a resident said. From there, the gunmen fanned out to neighbouring villages, shooting, burning, and abducting.

Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun confirmed the toll: “More than 40 people were killed. Over 100 were abducted. We suspect these are bandits, but the pattern is getting worse.”

Local lawmaker Jafar Muhammad Shetiman Borgu also confirmed the attacks, warning that the scale and audacity point to something darker.

—Fear Of Recruitment, Jihadist Link—

Officials say Borgu has become a corridor for armed groups — bandit gangs, jihadists, and cross-border fighters — who exploit vast forests and weak security presence.

Shetiman raised a chilling alarm: “There are fears that some of these gunmen are now trying to recruit young people in the communities they attack.”

In recent months, residents say jihadist fighters have entered villages and imposed religious restrictions. The area’s proximity to Benin makes it a safe haven for groups fleeing military pressure in the North West.

—A Cycle Of Horror—

This is not Borgu’s first tragedy.

Earlier this month, 145 people were rescued from kidnappers in Konkoso, Kasuwan-Daji, Tungan-Makeri and Shafachi. Authorities said they were part of 308 people rescued nationwide, including over 160 from neighbouring Kwara.

Last week alone, more than 20 people*l were killed in Borgu.

And in November 2025, gunmen abducted over 200 pupils from a school in Papiri. They were freed about a month later after negotiations.

Despite repeated military and police operations, large swaths of Niger State remain inaccessible. Armed groups operate from forested hideouts, striking isolated communities and vanishing before reinforcements arrive.

—“The Forests Have Become Their Barracks”—

The latest massacre underscores the collapsing security architecture in North Central Nigeria.

From kidnapping for ransom, to looting, to alleged ideological recruitment, the Borgu attacks show how criminal gangs and jihadist elements are merging into one deadly force.

Governor Umar Bago has yet to make a public statement on the latest killings. Residents say they are living in fear, with many now fleeing to bigger towns.

“The forests have become their barracks. Our villages have become their hunting ground,” a community leader in Dekara said.

As burial preparations begin and families wait for news of the abducted, one question echoes across Borgu: Who will stop the next attack?

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The re-election bids of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, received a major boost on Saturday, with their unanimous endorsement by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Rising from a meeting of its critical stakeholders which cuts across party lines in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, the stakeholders through a communique issued at the end of the meeting, endorsed the candidacy in a unanimous voice votes for their return to office in 2027.

The communique, read by the Member representing Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency, Hon Unyime Idem, was endorsed by the critical stakeholders after a motion moved and seconded by Senator Emmanuel Ibokessien and Hon Iboro Ekanem respectively.

The communique read in part:

“After reviewing the political situation and assessing the contributions and performance of the leaders and representatives, the stakeholders resolved to endorse them for another term in office in the 2027 General Elections.

“Accordingly, the meeting endorsed: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for another term as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 2027 Presidential Election. Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, for another term as Senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District in the 2027 National Assembly Election and Governor Umo Bassey Eno, for another term as Governor of Akwa Ibom State in the 2027 Governorship Election”.

In his reaction after the endorsement, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio described it as a product of the peaceful atmosphere in the party and the state, adding, “the peace in the state has finally led to the opposition parties joining to declare that they all stand on the mandate of Mr President.

“We are very happy for this grand endorsement of Mr President, myself and our governor. It shows that there is unity in this state, particularly in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District. This support and endorsement would be demonstrated on the election day. I can assure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Umo Eno that the people of this District will give them 100 percent of the votes.

“You can see the chairman of the PDP in the state, Hon Aniekan Akpan is here with us as well as some candidates of the opposition in the National Assembly elections. I will still continue to solicit for peaceful co-existence amongst us all. Whoever we have wronged in the course of our politicking let us forgive and forget so that we can move in one direction and voice during the electioneering and voting, ” he stated.

Former Minister, Petroleum resources, Don Etiebet; DIG Udom Ekpoudom rtd; Senators Aloysius Etuk, Emmanuel Ibokessien, Chris Ekpenyong among numerous other stakeholders at the meeting assured of the total support for the re-election of the trio.