Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State on Friday vowed to pursue justice for the seven travellers who were gruesomely killed at Uromi in Esan North-East local government area of the state on the suspicion that they were kidnappers.
The victims were said to be travelling through Uromi town from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when they were intercepted on suspicion of being criminals by the local vigilante members and jungle justice meted on them. They were severely beaten and set ablaze.
Meanwhile, four persons are already in police net over the tragic incident which occurred on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Governor Okpebholo, who condemned the action of the vigilante members in strong terms when he visited the town on Friday, said there was no excuse for the vigilante members to take the law into their hands without recourse to statutory law enforcement agencies.
He therefore directed the state Police Command and other security agencies to conduct thorough and speedy investigations into the matter and bring those found culpable to book.
While charging the community to work with the security agencies to fish out the culprits, Governor Okpebholo commended the leaders, especially the leadership of Arewa community in the area, for deescalating tensions and handling the situation with restraint.
Ahead of his visit on Friday, the governor had earlier on Thursday as soon as he got the report of the heinous act, despatched his Chief Security Officer (CSO), Solomon Osaghale, a superintendent of police, SP, to Uromi to douse tension.
Osaghale said he was in the town at the instance of the Governor to ascertain the level of damage done and to ensure that prompt investigation was carried out to ensure justice and forestall a reoccurrence.
He said investigations showed that the people who were killed had boarded a commercial truck which stopped by members of local security who upon conducting a search of the vehicle, discovered some guns, a situation that led to the mob attack by persons around the vicinity.
According to the CSO, “His Excellency, the Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo on getting the news of this incident, directed me to immediately come here and find out what transpired as the news of what happened here is a source of worry to our Governor whose desire is to create a prosperous state void of dastardly acts like this.
“I can assure you that the people involved in this unprovoked attack will not go scot-free, as His Excellency has directed the Commissioner of Police to launch a full-scale investigation into the matter. As I speak now, over four persons have been arrested for their involvement in this ugly incidence”.
Oseghale called for calm, while assuring the law-abiding residents of Uromi, especially the Hausa community in the area to go about their daily activities, as men of the Nigerian police force and other security agencies had been deployed to restore peace and normalcy to the place.
Appreciating the Governor for his swift response, the leader of the Hausa community in Uromi, Mallam Aliyu Haruna, thanked Governor Okpebholo for deploying the CSO and other security personnel to the community.
Mallam Haruna acknowledged that their presence brought calm and reassurance to the Hausa community in the area, as there was palpable fear and unease in their camp following the unfortunate incidence which he noted has never happened before in the local government area.
Haruna said: “We want to sincerely thank the Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo for his swift response to the occurrence of this ugly incidence. I must tell you that this is the first time a thing like this is happening in Uromi and it baffles me because, Uromi people have been so accommodating to us the Hausa community. “Over the years, we have lived peacefully among the indigenes. Our sojourn in this land has spanned over seventy years. I was given birth to here, and so are many other people you are seeing here today.”