Northerners Killings In Uromi: Gov Okpebolo Did Not Heed To Security Warnings- PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has claimed that the recent killing of northern travellers in Uromi, Edo State, would have been prevented if governor Okpebolo had heeded the warnings of security agents in the state.

In a statement issued on Monday, The party claimed that the government’s non committal attitude towards security issues is responsible for the general insecurity in the state.

PDP recalled that on February 5, men of the Edo State Security Network (ESSN) had staged a protest in Benin City, during which they passed a vote of no confidence on their commander, retired Commissioner of Police Friday Ibadin. The group cited rising insecurity in the state which includes a surge in cases of kidnapping and murder, they also observed that there is an infiltration of unregulated vigilante groups into the ESSN.

The protest by ESSN was carried out after the governor restated Ibadin twenty four hours after being replaced.

Imade Eweka, an operative of ESSN during the protest accused Ibadin of turning the group into a political tool.

“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 said.

The group said Ibadin is replacing trained members of the group with political thugs known to the government of the day. ESSN also observed that the security situation in the state, especially Edo Central where both the governor and Ibadin hail from, had worsened under his leadership.

It’s on record that on March 29, vigilantes operating in Uromi, which the government termed illegal were implicated in the killing of innocent northern travelers en route Port Harcourt to the North for the Sallah holidays. They were accused of being kidnappers and summarily murdered in cold blood.

“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,”

“The knee-jerk, Abuja-ordered suspension of the Commander of the Edo State Security Corps, CP Friday Ibadin (Rtd), is a clear admission by the government that the security architecture of the state has failed.

“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.

“It is particularly distressing that a vigilante group, operating without any oversight or proper registration, was allowed to take up arms and engage in extra-judicial killings.

“This is an indictment of the Okpebholo administration’s failure to properly regulate, train, and coordinate security efforts in the state.” The statement by Chris Nehikhare , PDP Publicity Secretary read.