Three years after a deadly cult clash in Edo State claimed the life of Chief Stanley Ebogie, a known member of the Aye confraternity, his fifth wife, Rita Ighodaro Igunbor, remains missing and is feared to be in hiding for her life.
The incident, which occurred on April 14, 2022, at Ugbogui near Benin City, according to our sources, involved a brutal confrontation with the rival Black Axe cult group.
Chief Ebogie, a controversial figure in Edo’s underworld, was killed after repeated threats and attacks by suspected members of Black Axe. The final incident occurred when armed men stormed his residence, vandalized property, and shot him dead in cold blood.
Sensing imminent danger after his murder, Rita Ighodaro Igunbor earlier moved their four children to her mother’s village in Ofosu after receiving threats. But the peril soon extended beyond her family, prompting her to flee into hiding. Her current whereabouts remain unknown.
It was gathered that even Rita Ighodaro Igunbor’s marriage to Ebogie was not borne out of affection, but rather an unfortunate consequence of debt. Her late father, unable to repay a financial obligation to Ebogie, gave her out in marriage as a means of settlement. The union, marked by years of domestic abuse, produced four children.
With the ugly turn of events, Rita’s mother, Mary Igunbor, was forced to flee her home in Ofosu to an undisclosed location after members of the cult group also threatened to abduct the children.
The group warned that anyone remotely linked to Rita Ighodaro Igunbor’s disappearance would pay dearly. Sources confirmed that the cult group even vowed to deal ruthlessly with any individual or community offering her refuge or assistance.
With these indication, Rita Ighodaro Igunbor’s life remains in serious danger, with fears that her discovery anywhere in Nigeria could see her death as the cult group have boasted of their influence across multiple locations and will do everything to kill her.
