The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, of negligence following the killing of northern travelers in Uromi, Edo State, attributing the tragic incident to the administration’s alleged failure to address worsening security challenges.
In a statement on Monday, the PDP claimed that the state government’s ineffective handling of security had led to chaos, despite earlier warnings of a breakdown in the state’s security structure.
The party recalled that on February 5, just a month before the attack, operatives of the Edo State Security Network (ESSN) staged a public protest in Benin City. During the protest, they passed a vote of no confidence in their commander, retired Commissioner of Police Friday Ibadin, citing rising insecurity, a surge in kidnappings and killings, and the alleged infiltration of the network by unregulated vigilante groups.
The protest followed Governor Okpebholo’s brief removal of Ibadin and his replacement with Assistant Commander Balogun, a decision that was reversed within 24 hours. The reinstatement of Ibadin reportedly fueled unrest within the ESSN.
One of the protesters, ESSN operative Imade Eweka, accused Ibadin of politicizing the security network by deploying loyalists to extort money from citizens while leaving operatives unarmed and unpaid.
“Commander Ibadin is playing politics. He has been deploying his loyalists to extort money from innocent citizens, undermining the integrity of our mission. Meanwhile, we are unarmed, unpaid, and our members are dying during rescue operations,” Eweka stated.
Eweka further alleged that Ibadin had disarmed trained officers and replaced them with loyalists drawn from illegal vigilante groups known to the government.
The security situation in Edo Central, where both Governor Okpebholo and Ibadin hail from, reportedly worsened under Ibadin’s leadership. On March 29, vigilantes operating in Uromi—described by the government as “illegal”—were implicated in the killing of travelers who were allegedly profiled as kidnappers while en route from Port Harcourt to the North for the Sallah holiday.
In the wake of the killings, the Edo State chapter of the PDP issued a strongly worded statement condemning the governor’s failure to address the crisis from the onset.
“The recent government classification of the perpetrators as an illegal vigilante group only further exposes the absence of a coherent security framework under the current administration and a continuation of the blame game this government has come to master,” said PDP Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare.
He added that the suspension of Commander Ibadin following the incident was a belated acknowledgment of the administration’s security failures.
“The February 5 mutiny by members of the Edo Security Corps was an early warning sign of deep-rooted inefficiencies, yet Senator Monday Okpebholo chose to ignore it. Now, Edo people and Nigerians are paying the price of Okpebholo’s incompetence with their lives,” Nehikhare asserted.
He further criticized the administration for allowing an unregistered vigilante group to take up arms and engage in extrajudicial killings, calling it a clear indictment of the government’s inability to regulate, train, and coordinate security efforts in the state.
Comments