The Edo State Police Command has arrested 31-year-old Joshua Osaigbovo in connection with the alleged murder of 21-year-old Osato Festus Edogiaweria in Benin City.
Police operatives exhumed the remains of the young woman from a shallow grave near the suspect’s residence in the Iyanomon community, located in the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of the state, where he had buried her.
CSP Moses Yamu, the spokesperson for the command, confirmed the incident in a statement on Friday, June 20, 2025. He explained that the Family Unit operatives apprehended the suspect through a thorough investigation and technical intelligence.
The investigation began after a missing person report was filed on April 25, 2025, at the Aduwawa Division by Mrs. Ojo. She reported that her daughter, Osato Festus Edogiaweria, had left home on April 20, 2025, with a friend and had not been heard from since.
“The case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department for further investigation,” he stated.
“Demonstrating the Command’s resolve to rid the state of all forms of crime and criminality, operatives of the Family Unit, through painstaking investigation and technical intelligence, arrested one Joshua Osaigbovo, 31 years, a resident of Iyanomon community in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, in connection with the crime on June 18, 2025.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to having invited the said Osato Festus (now deceased) to his residence on 27th April 2025, and in the course of their stay, had an altercation that led to a fight where the deceased fell, hit her head on the ground, and d!ed.
“He further confessed that he took the dead body of the lady in a wheelbarrow to a bush nearby, dug and buried her in a shallow grave a few meters away from his residence.
“The suspect on 20th June 2025, led operatives of the Command to the shallow grave at the Iyanomon community, where the remains of the girl were exhumed following all necessary procedures,” he said.
Yamu said the deceased’s phone was recovered from the suspect. He added that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
