The Edo State Government has rejected reports describing the recent unrest in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area, as a protest, insisting the incident was a coordinated riot intended to destabilise the state.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Patrick Ebojele, said security agencies had identified the alleged masterminds behind the violence, which he described as “a well-organised riot sponsored by a Nigerian resident in Russia and other locations overseas.”
According to the statement, investigators traced funding for the disturbances to diaspora sources, with suspects said to have coordinated attacks across Ekpoma, Auchi, Irrua and the Government House in Benin City.
The government also dismissed claims that those arrested were students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, or that arrests were carried out inside student hostels and that the university had been closed and students had vacated the hostels well before the incident.
“The government firmly refuted claims that those arrested and facing prosecution in connection with the violence were students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, or that their arrests were made inside student hostels,” the statement said.
He added that some suspects were intercepted while allegedly heading towards the university campus to vandalise property, while others were identified through viral videos showing acts of arson and destruction.
Most of the arrests, the government added, were made on the basis of video evidence linking individuals directly to the violence.
“The suspects arrested are rioters, not peaceful protesters,” the statement said, stressing that the incident had no connection with AAU students or the National Association of Nigerian Students.
The unrest followed the kidnapping and killing of a young man in Ekpoma on January 9, an incident that heightened fear and anger among residents, particularly within the university community.
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