A former Commissioner for Information in Edo State and chieftain of that All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Charles Idahosa, is dead.

Idahosa, who served as commissioner during the Lucky Igbinedion administration died at the age of 72.

Though no official statement from his family yet, a source close to the family confirmed his death.

READ ALSO:Woman Taken For Dead Wakes Up Inside Coffin Few Minutes To Her Cremation

The source who does not want his name in print said: “Daddy was full of life this morning. As usual, he came downstairs receiving people. I don’t know what happened, it is shocking,” He said.

Idahosa popularly known as Akakasiaka and Charlie Tempo was a very vocal politician and was the Political Adviser to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for the eight years he was governor of the state.

Families who deposited their deceased relations at the Aigbe Mortuary, Akugbe Street, off Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City, have since Monday been besieging the facility to ascertain the condition of their loved ones.

This followed the discovery of an alleged case of organ harvesting at the mortuary.

A mortuary attendant was arrested by operatives of the Edo State Police Command as a result of the incident.

A visit to the hospital, which operates the mortuary and serves the densely populated Upper Sakponba area, revealed that some family members were present to check the condition of the corpses they deposited, while others made frantic efforts to transfer their deceased relatives to other mortuaries.

READ ALSO:Edo Assembly Summons 2Baba’s Wife Before Ethics Committee

Osariemen Desmond who happens to be one of the persons who were at mortuary said his late mother’s corpse was deposited at the mortuary, adding that he was there to ensure nothing had happened to her remains, as the family plans to bury her next year.

“I am here because of the story we heard about organ harvesting last Friday. I just want to be sure that my mother’s corpse is safe. Many people have been coming since Monday to transfer the corpses of their deceased family members to other mortuaries, while others just came to be sure that nothing has happened to the corpses they deposited. But for me, I am here to be sure that my mum’s corpse is intact,” he said.

However, a member of staff of the hospital, who declined to have his name in print, said the mortuary had never been involved in organ harvesting.

He explained that the deceased whose corpse was allegedly tampered with had died as a result of poisoning, which may have affected his internal organs.

READ ALSO:37 Kidnap Victims Regain Freedom In Katsina

“There is nothing like organ harvesting here. The man in question died from poisoning, and that may have affected his internal organs,” he said.

However, the Edo State Police Command, in a statement released by its Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said the Command had launched an investigation into the matter and would ensure that anyone found guilty faces the full weight of the law.

She said: “The Edo State Police Command has launched an intensive and far-reaching investigation into a disturbing allegation of unlawful tampering with a human corpse and theft of human parts at Akugbe Mortuary, located along Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City—an incident that sparked public outrage and nearly culminated in mob violence.

READ ALSO:Edo Assembly Invites Obaseki, Others For Questioning Over MOWAA

“On December 12, 2025, the Command received an urgent distress call indicating that a mortuary attendant was on the verge of being lynched by an irate crowd over allegations of organ harvesting. Acting with swift precision, the Divisional Police Officer, Ugbekun Division, immediately mobilised operatives to the scene and successfully rescued the suspect, thereby averting a breakdown of law and order.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that one Marvelous Odeh and others had visited the mortuary to claim the corpse of the late Uyi Enogieru for burial. However, upon completion of the required formalities, it was discovered that the corpse had been unlawfully interfered with and that some body parts were missing, prompting a report to the Police.

“The suspect has since been taken into custody and, on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Monday Agbonika, fdc, the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for a thorough, professional, and discreet investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Kidnappers have abducted 18 passengers along the Benin-Akure highway, near Obarenren village, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

The kidnappers were said to have fired sporadically before taking their victims into the bush.

Edo State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, confirmed the incident in Benin on Monday.

READ ALSO:Senate Backs Death Penalty For Kidnappers, Informants, Others

Ikoedem, while stating that a joint security operation had launched a manhunt for the abductors, added that a “massive bush combing led to the rescue of 11 victims.”

The PPRO, who said efforts were on to rescue other victims, noted: “The incident happened last Saturday. The passengers were in a 18-seater Big Joe bus. We have been combing the bush in collaboration with the Nigerian Army.

“No Arrest has been made yet.”