The tension that had been simmering for months in Ekpoma, a university town in Edo State’s central senatorial district, finally boiled over when a protest over insecurity spiralled into violence and left the palace of the Onojie of Ekpoma, Zaiki Anthony Abumere II, in ruins.
What began as a peaceful demonstration against rampant kidnapping and rising insecurity in and around Ekpoma was quickly hijacked by hoodlums. Residents who had gathered to demand better protection from criminal gangs watched as the protest was transformed into a rampage that targeted traders, property and, most symbolically, the palace of their traditional ruler.
Witnesses said the crowd, swelled by miscreants, moved from the main protest route toward the livestock market, where traders were forced to flee. Goats were killed, cows were beaten and driven off, and stalls were ransacked. From there, the mob advanced on the Onojie’s palace, a centuries-old symbol of authority and identity for the Esan people.
By the time the violence subsided, parts of the palace complex had been vandalised. Vehicles parked within the compound were smashed, canopies and chairs torn apart, and doors and windows shattered. Even cartons of noodles belonging to the Onojie’s wife, who runs a small trading business from the palace, were destroyed, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of the attack.
The unrest did not stop at the palace gates. A major highway passing through Ekpoma was blocked, bringing traffic to a standstill and crippling commercial activities. For hours, the town was effectively shut down, deepening the sense of insecurity that had originally driven residents to the streets.
In the aftermath, Edo State Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo travelled to Ekpoma to see the damage firsthand and to reassure both the monarch and the community. Accompanied by senior government officials, the Edo State Commissioner of Police and leaders of the All Progressives Congress, including Edo Central senatorial leader General Cecil Esekhaigbe (retd.), the governor walked through the palace compound, inspecting vandalised vehicles, broken furniture and damaged structures.
Standing beside the Onojie, Okpebholo condemned the attack in unequivocal terms. He described the invasion of the palace and the looting that followed as criminal and unacceptable, insisting that no grievance, however legitimate, could justify an assault on a traditional institution.
He stressed that while citizens have the right to protest, that right does not extend to violence or the destruction of property. According to him, those who turned a peaceful demonstration into an opportunity for looting and vandalism would be treated as criminals, not activists.
The governor linked the unrest to a broader national struggle with insecurity, particularly kidnapping, which has plagued communities across Nigeria. He noted that the federal government had recently taken steps to strengthen security, including the withdrawal of police officers from non-essential VIP duties so they could be redeployed to frontline operations.
Okpebholo disclosed that his administration had already convened a high-level security meeting with a special focus on Edo Central, and especially the Ekpoma axis, which has seen a spike in abductions and armed attacks. He said the state was rolling out technology-driven security operations designed to track and disrupt criminal networks across its three senatorial districts.
He pointed to recent operations in Edo North and Edo South as evidence that the strategy was beginning to yield results. In one such operation in Etsako West, nine kidnapped victims were reportedly rescued unharmed and their abductors arrested. The governor said similar intensity would now be brought to bear in Edo Central.
Okpebholo vowed that those who hijacked the Ekpoma protest would face the same determination that security agencies are applying to the fight against kidnappers. He warned that hiding behind the cover of public anger or ethnic sentiment would not shield anyone from prosecution.
