It’s a loss for Gangsterism and Criminality in Edo

By, Dr. Patrick Akhere Ebojele

There was a time, not too long ago, when news out of Edo State was an evil cult war, bloodbath, and killings. Youths in their numbers were losing their lives as residents in particular communities hurried indoors before dusk. Business owners counted losses in silence. Parents watched helplessly as their sons drifted into cult groups, not always because poverty left them with no choice, but because criminality had become, for some, a badge of influence and power.

All that Edo is gradually changing.
In its place is an administration that has declared, through words and actions, that the era of tolerance for cultism and kidnapping is over. Governor Monday Okpebholo has made the war against organised crime the defining security policy of his administration. From demolishing criminal hideouts to setting up a Special Criminal Court and deploying a multi-agency security squad, the government is steadily tightening the space within which criminal gangs once operated.

Governor Okpebholo is determined to end the cycle. Speaking to youths from the state’s 18 local government areas at the New Festival Hall, Government House, Benin City recently, he made his position unmistakably clear.
“There is no going back in the fight against cultism and kidnapping.”
He followed the declaration with a warning to anyone providing shelter to criminals. “If you have a kidnapper in your house, ask him to leave because if we discover that house, we will demolish it.”
This warning quickly translated into action.

Across Edo State, buildings identified by security agencies as criminal hideouts are being demolished. One such property in Obagie-N’Evbuosa Community in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area was allegedly used by kidnappers to keep victims before moving them to other locations. In Uromi, another building linked to an alleged kidnapping kingpin suffered the same fate after investigators connected the property to a network of abductions involving collaborators from outside Edo State.

For Governor Okpebholo, the demolitions are intended to dismantle the infrastructure sustaining organised crime. “If I can eliminate cultism in Edo State, even if I don’t do anything else, I will be satisfied.” His message is simple: criminal gangs can not thrive without safe havens.

Driving much of the enforcement is the Edo State Security Squad operating under the codename, ‘Operation Flush Out Kidnappers and Cultists’. The operation brings together personnel from the military, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), local hunters, vigilante groups, and even repentmembers providing intelligence on criminal networks. Its operations have been consistent.

It’s coordinated raids on suspected cult hideouts in Isiohor, Iguosa, Oluku and the Ibiwe/Lagos Street axis of Benin City led to the arrest of over 20 suspects, while security operatives recovered weapons and illicit drugs.
Another operation at Asoro Hill in Uzebu Quarters resulted in the arrest of 12 suspected cultists from what security agencies described as a drug and cultism den. The squad also moved into the Iyanomo Community to prevent a brewing leadership dispute from degenerating into violence, while intelligence-led operations in Uromi and Auchi led to the arrest of two suspects allegedly found with pump-action guns.

Ahead of July 7, a date traditionally associated with cult “Founders Day” celebrations, the security squad publicly warned that no gathering linked to cult groups would be permitted anywhere in Edo State. The government has also directed business owners to install functional Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras before July 30, 2026, expanding surveillance across commercial districts and making it more difficult for criminal gangs to operate unnoticed.

Beyond arrests, Governor Okpebholo has moved to strengthen the prosecution of suspects. While addressing judicial officers, Governor Okpebholo argued that insecurity was undermining Edo’s economic future. “Cultism and kidnapping are major setbacks to economic development. We must reduce them to the barest minimum so our people can feel safe, and investors can have confidence in Edo State.”

On June 19, 2026, he formally requested the Chief Judge of Edo State to establish a special court dedicated to cultism and kidnapping cases. Within two weeks, Special Criminal Court 1 commenced sitting in Benin City, with the objective of ensuring that criminal trials no longer spend years moving slowly through the conventional judicial process.

The governor has also adopted a tougher public stance on punishment. While addressing journalists during the parade of suspected kidnappers by the Edo State Police Command in June 2026, he said: “It is better to live according to your means than to go into kidnapping or cultism. A kidnapper loses everything, including his life.” He added that he was prepared to sign the death warrant of anyone convicted and sentenced to death for kidnapping.

Days later, while addressing officers and journalists at the Police Command Headquarters in Benin City, he appealed directly to young people. “Stay away from cultism and kidnapping. Those are dangerous paths that lead nowhere except an early grave.”

While enforcement has been uncompromising, the administration has also offered rehabilitation to those willing to abandon criminal groups. The governor has announced an amnesty program for cult members prepared to surrender their weapons voluntarily.
“Any cultist who surrenders his weapons voluntarily will be compensated. Whatever the value of the weapon, we will pay double.” The policy reflects the government’s belief that some young people entered cult groups through peer pressure, manipulation, or desperation and could still be persuaded to abandon violence if offered a credible alternative.

Recall that in August 2025, the governor expressed confidence that his strategy was beginning to produce results. “Many people doubted us before we came into office, but those who believed in us have not been disappointed.” Cultism was deeply entrenched over several decades, and dismantling those networks will require consistent effort beyond a single administration. Yet the signs of change are becoming increasingly visible.

Hideouts once considered untouchable are being identified and demolished. Suspects are being arrested through coordinated intelligence-led operations. Dedicated courts are ensuring faster prosecution, while communities are being encouraged to work with security agencies rather than shield offenders.

But for the first time in many years, the momentum is shifting. In Edo State, the advantage is increasingly moving away from criminal gangs and towards the institutions determined to dismantle them.

Dr. Ebojele has his PhD. in Public Administration and is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State.