. Residents query alleged gov’s collection of N500m security vote monthly
…accuse police of colluding with criminal elements
By Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin
For close to three years, residents of Edo State have been battling to survive the onslaughts by different cult groups in the state with over 156 lives lost within the period in review to inter and intra-cult wars.
Lately, no fewer than 12 persons have been killed in different parts of Bénin City, the Edo State capital, in a renewed cult war.
While some were killed at the Agbor Park axis, others were mowed down around the Murtala Mohammed Way and Third Junction area of the state capital.
Three persons were also hacked to death by Isibor Junction adjacent St Saviour Road, Benin.
Sometime in May this year, traders around the Third Junction hurriedly closed shops following sporadic shootings between rival cult groups and policemen.
It was learnt that the renewed killings started in the night, when a victim was killed at Iyobosa Street, opposite Edo College, at a place popularly called Aso Rock.
Another victim was killed by Second East Circular near Ekiosa by Lucky Junction.
In another incident, a 22-year-old boy identified as Ogbe was shot dead that same night.
Following the renewed cult clashes in the state, a Non-Governmental Organisation, The Legend Foundation, has, however, called on the state government and security agencies to step up their fight against crime and cultism in the state.
The Director General of the group, Kadiri Christopher, said parents should guide their children against cultism and other vices.
The state Commissioner of Police, Danmallam Abubakar, said one person was wounded in the shootout, but that the victim was in a stable condition.
Abubakar said the police repelled the cultists and ensured nobody was killed.
He said, “There was shooting. The cultist came out and we repelled them. We need the cooperation of the people to checkmate activities of cultists. We made some arrests in Ekpoma and two others were arrested in Bénin.
“Nobody has been killed to my knowledge, but somebody was wounded and he is in stable condition.”
Some residents of the state, who spoke with our correspondent, condemned the alleged lackadaisical attitude of Governor Godwin Obaseki towards tackling the security challenges in the state.
They wondered why inspite of the N500million collected by Governor Obaseki every month, the security situation in the state had yet to improve.
In June this year, no fewer than 11 persons were reportedly killed in Benin-city alone in another renewed cult war that lasted for about a week.
The killings were the results of the battle of supremacy between rival cult members said to belong to Eiye and Black Axe.
Three persons were hacked to death at Isibor Junction adjacent to St. Saviour Road, Upper Sakponba, while another one was said to have been killed on Murtala Muhammed Way and another one in Idaho Street, off Sakponba road.
Another three were said to have been killed in the evening of Tuesday 13th, with the state Commissioner of Police, Danmallam Abubakar Muhammed, personally leading his team to the area to restore order.
There was free flow of traffic along the frequently congested Sakponba Road by Third Junction that morning as many of the drivers and their conductors stayed off the road, apparently to evade arrest as some of them are suspected to be members of the rival cults.
It was also learnt that the renewed killings began last Sunday night when one of the cultists was reportedly killed by Iyobosa Street, opposite Edo College at a place popularly called Aso Rock by another suspected rival cult group.
While one was said to have been killed near Etiosa by Lucky Junction, another was killed along Agbor Road near NNPC depot, just as another was killed last Monday by a street opposite the NNPC depot.
At Ekiosa Market on Murtala Muhammed Way, two persons were killed last Monday night while one was reportedly killed by Owoba near Immaculate Conception College.
As at the time of filing this report, the town had been calm, but repeated calls to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, to confirm the number of arrests made, were not answered.
Shortly after his assumption of office as the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki changed the method of revenue collection from bus, taxi drivers and other business owners in Benin City.
He dislodged those that used to collect internal revenue and replaced them with well-trained revenue officers equipped with Point of Service electronic device for revenue collection.
With a scratch card, business owners started paying their revenues without any hassles.
The new approach, to a very large extent, has helped to sanitise a process that used to be marred by thuggery and lack of transparency that produced several emergency billionaires, who held sway at bus stops and markets and were highly sought after at local parties to spray wads of naira notes.
The governor’s second bold step was the signing of the Community Development Association Bill into law, which has since restored sanity in land administration in Edo State.
Obaseki had lamented that “The activities of the CDAs retard economic growth and development in the communities and our state in general. They flagrantly disregard the rule of law so as to achieve their selfish interests.”
The law was the product of a rare synergy between the Benin Monarch, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, Governor Obaseki and the Edo State House of Assembly.
To this end, Edo State is currently a construction site with several intra-city and inter-state roads undergoing reconstruction at a time the harsh outcomes of the worst economic recession witnessed in years are still being felt.
These bold steps towards purposeful governance in Edo State as well as the state government’s efforts at repositioning the agricultural, educational and other sectors of the state to create the desired jobs and improve the quality of life of the average Edo citizen and resident, has earned the governor the sobriquet ‘Wake and see governor’ as people wake up us to see newly constructed roads, schools, and large farms in their neighbourhood.
However, analysts says this soaring profile Obaseki has built in less than one year in office, which is due to his unique style of governance, devoid of the noise that the typical Nigerian politician is known for, is currently under threat with the reported cases of violent crimes in the state in the past few weeks and months.
While some of them have taken advantage of the new order and readjusted their way of life, other criminal elements among them have continued to kill, maim and commit all manner of crimes, simply because they misconstrue the new initiative as a deliberate effort by the government to remove food from their tables and throw them out of business.
Just within a space of two weeks, Edo has witnessed unprecedented insecurity, while the police appear helpless.
For instance, the forceful abduction of an environmentalist and conservationist, Andy Ehanire, younger brother to Dr. Osagie Ehanire, ex-minister of state, Health. His kidnap on Sunday, September 24, 2017, led to the killing of three police officers in the process.
While the victims’ wives and families were mourning their dead and the government and the family of the kidnapped were busy trying to contact the abductors for possible ransom negotiation, another kidnap incident took place on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, with the abduction of renowned musician, Ambassador Osayomore Joseph, who had set his band to play during the first coronation anniversary of Oba Ewuare II.
The latest in the series of wanton killings is the gruesome murder of Prof. Paul Otasowie, a professor of Engineering, University of Benin, right in front of his house along Ekewan Road, Benin City.
Before these three incidents, a Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Lawrence Adorolo, was also kidnapped by gunmen while coming back from Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area.
Apart from that, there had been a catalogue of cases of insecurity in the state due to the menace of herdsmen in the state. For instance, in March this year, a former council chairman of Etsako East, Suleiman Malik Afegbua, was murdered in cold blood by suspected herdsmen along the Benin-Ehor Road, while those travelling with him and other passengers were abducted.
The story is not any better in Edo North Senatorial District with tales of rampant serial killings, kidnappings and rape by suspected herdsmen.
There was a reported case where suspected herdsmen kidnapped a middle-aged man at Uluoke near the former governor Adams Oshiomhole’s village, killed and raped some ladies around Ikabigbo and Okpella.
It was gathered that to perfect their operations, the herdsmen built makeshift settlements in the forests around local communities from where they launch attacks on their host communities.
In Edo Central, the story is the same, prompting Obaseki to visit Eko-Ewu in May to commiserate with the families of two women who were raped and murdered by suspected herdsmen.
Speaking on behalf of the deceased family, Mr. Ceril Ikhajigbe from Oko-Ojeme explained what happened to the governor. According to distraught Ikhajigbe, the victim had gone to the farm in the morning. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting woman, Fulani herdsmen raped her and murdered her.
Added to this are the reported cases of rival cult wars, which have consumed the lives of several persons in the state, particularly in Benin City, the state capital.
Just few months back, a journalist with NTA, Lawrence Okojie, was murdered in circumstances the police described as armed robbery attack, leaving his two kids fatherless and his wife, a widow.
Just last month, the people of Oben, a peaceful community in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state woke up to the shocking news of the killing of Mr. Efosa Omoregie, a farmer, who was trying to protect his farm from the marauding Fulani herdsmen, who invaded his farm with their cattle.
According to the late Omoregie’s widow, her husband got into an argument with the herdsmen in their farm and was shot by the Fulani herdsmen. He left behind two wives and 12 children.
Prior to Omoregie’s death, men suspected to be Fulani herdsmen in June, 2017, allegedly raped and beheaded a woman identified as Margaret at Ekpoma, from Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.
Report said the body of the victim was found by a search party after she failed to return home from the farm.
Angered by the seeming police ineffectiveness against combating crime in the state, Edo indigenes living in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, Monday, October 9, 2017, took to the streets in protest to register their anger over the avoidable violent crimes in the state. Their frustration in the hands of the a commissioner of police they described as highly corrupt and the concomitant sense of insecurity, which if not urgently checked, could escalate.
During the protest, leader of the demonstrators, Henry Okpamen along with hundreds of Edo sons and daughters marched through the streets of Abuja with placards to the National Assembly and the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, Louis Edet House, to demand the redeployment of Mr. Haliru Gwandu Abubakar, the then commissioner of police in the state.
According to the protesters, the rising wave of violent crimes in the state was an indication that the police commissioner was incapable of protecting lives and property in the state, hinting of a possible collusion with criminal elements, many of who allegedly operate under the cover of the police.
Okpamen said, “We, the concerned citizens of Edo State, are gathered here today to share our pains with Mr. President; the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the worsening security situation in our state.
“While Mr. Governor and his Cabinet, with cooperation from the revered Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, are working round the clock to encourage investments into Edo State, the Inspector General of Police has refused to support the government of Edo State in this effort.”
Not only that, the Edo indigenes also demanded an apology from the then Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, for allegedly not doing enough to address the worsening security situation in the state.
The Abuja protest, according to investigation, apparently became necessary as all efforts by the Edo people suffering the horror of the violent crimes, had no other option.
The protesters alleged that reports were rife that the then Edo police boss held surreptitious meetings with leaders of criminal gangs, some of whom reigned as community leaders in the state before they were outlawed by the governor.
This raging allegations of corruption against the then police boss, it was learnt, further amplified an earlier alarm raised by the Network of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria, the umbrella body of all civil society orgnisations in the state, which accused the then police commissioner of running a network of criminals in the state police command, who were remitting proceeds of crime to him regularly.
