The rising insecurity in Edo State, which fueled the lynching of a group of travelers in Uromi on March 27, may have been caused by Monday Okpebholo, the governor of Edo State, taking what was believed to be a weak approach to insecurity when he took office.
Since taking office in November 2024, the governor has been criticized by his opponents for failing to take effective measures to address the issue of insecurity.
In light of the state’s worsening insecurity, the people of the state had anticipated that Governor Okpebholo would reinstate the state government-owned vigilante services, even though Inspector General of Police Mr. Kayode Egbetokun had temporarily suspended them just before the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
Many people think that the governor disregarded the security measures implemented by former Governor Godwin Obaseki because he clearly did not want to carry out any of the programs that his predecessor had started.
As a result, security in the state completely collapsed. Herdsmen and kidnappers have taken over the state’s bushes since last year, causing chaos and suffering for the populace.
The governor took little to no action to increase security while the Edo people were protesting that their people were being slain and that women were being brutally raped on their farms or while they were traveling to get water from the rivers and streams.
Additionally, the state government did nothing to appease the farmers whose livelihoods were destroyed when herdsmen decimated their lands.
However, the governor was compelled to make a hasty trip to Kano for a condolence visit after the people’s misguided aggression resulted in the horrific deaths of the travelers.
Family members who have lost loved ones and their farms to herdsmen’s attacks and kidnapping in the state want the governor to do the same for them, even though they applaud him for his attempts to stop retaliation for the Uromi killings and to make an effort to compensate the victims’ families.
Most significantly, he needs to take the same steps to prevent the state’s abhorrent crimes committed by herders and kidnappers, which stoked animosity and resulted in the preventable March 27 catastrophe.
Lastly, in order to solve the state’s security issues, he ought to immediately lift the restriction on vigilante services.
