Speaker 1: Edo State Governor Monday ot Pepolo on Monday visited Carno
Speaker 1: State to sympathize with the people of the state over
Speaker 1: the last Thursday killing of travelers at a Romi town
Speaker 1: in the Essen Northeast Local government area of Edo State,
Speaker 1: when some youths in the Edo community that have been
Speaker 1: experiencing incessant killings and abductions of the villages by suspected herders,
Speaker 1: stopped a moving Dangote cement truck and found the travelers
Speaker 1: to be in possession of nineteen locally fabricated guns, which
Speaker 1: some members of the public claimed the travelers were hunters
Speaker 1: traveling from Port Harcourt in Rivers State to Carno with
Speaker 1: the guns alleged to be licensed. This the Nigeria police boss,
Speaker 1: the Inspector General of Police IGP, car Yode Eggbato Can
Speaker 1: apparently dismiss the allegations that the Dane guns were licensed
Speaker 1: and probably described the victims to be in possession of
Speaker 1: illegal firearms and thus warned and directed anyone in possession
Speaker 1: of illegal firearms to surrender such to the nearest police
Speaker 1: station and directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police in
Speaker 1: charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department FCID dig Sadi
Speaker 1: Kabubakha to take over the case, with reports indicating that
Speaker 1: the fourteen suspects arrested in connection to the mobbing and
Speaker 1: burning to death of the travelers, said to be sixteen
Speaker 1: in numbers, may have been transferred to Abouja for police investigation.
Speaker 1: A video made available on Saturday indicated that the victims
Speaker 1: were buried at a cemetery in Aromi, with a background
Speaker 1: voice in the video saying the death toll rose to nineteen,
Speaker 1: suggesting some of the victims that were rushed to the
Speaker 1: hospital could not survive the attack. While the Edo State
Speaker 1: governor visited Carno State, the Governor of Carno State, Aber Yusuf,
Speaker 1: and the Nigerian Bar Association NBA in the state urged
Speaker 1: the government of Edo's state to pay compensation to the
Speaker 1: families of the travelers mobbed and bird to death. Governor Yusuf,
Speaker 1: who spoke while hosting his Edo counterpart Monday ob Pepolo,
Speaker 1: called for the prosecution of the suspects and urged the
Speaker 1: state government to disclose their identities and compensate the families
Speaker 1: of the deceased. This is a serious tragedy that must
Speaker 1: not be overlooked. We expect prompt prosecution of the suspects
Speaker 1: and adequate compensation to the families affected by this act
Speaker 1: of brutality, Governor Yusef stated. The Carno State Branch of NBA,
Speaker 1: in a statement issued by its chairperson Usmanfari, described the
Speaker 1: incident as a heinous act that must not go unpunished.
Speaker 1: The government of Edo's State must take full responsibility for
Speaker 1: this tragic incident. Those involved must be prosecuted for murder
Speaker 1: and the government must provide adequate compensation to the families
Speaker 1: of the victims, said Fari. We appreciate the maturity and
Speaker 1: patience of Karno residents for not resorting to retaliation or
Speaker 1: reprisal attacks. Justice must be pursued through legal and appropriate channels,
Speaker 1: the NBA added. Meanwhile, Governor ok Pepholo, while speaking during
Speaker 1: the visit, condoled the government and people of Carno State
Speaker 1: and North West Nigeria over the incident. I am here
Speaker 1: to console the people of Karnos State and the affected families.
Speaker 1: We are not happy with what happened. We are saddened
Speaker 1: by it, ok Pepolo said. He lived at Byadi Yadi
Speaker 1: area in Karnos State before and narrated how he enjoyed
Speaker 1: tremendous support from the northern community during his electioneering. Governor
Speaker 1: ot Pepolo had earlier visited the Deputy President of the Senate,
Speaker 1: Barrau Gibrin over the killings and said fourteen suspects arrested
Speaker 1: over the incident would be moved to the Police Force
Speaker 1: headquarters in Abuja to ensure a thorough investigation of the incident.
Speaker 1: After visiting the Deputy Senate President, Governor ot Pepholo tweeted
Speaker 1: on his ex social media handle and stated that today
Speaker 1: I visited the Deputy Senate President, Senator Baraujibrin at his
Speaker 1: residence in Abuja to reaffirm my commitment to ensue during
Speaker 1: justice for the tragic killings in Aromi Edo State. So far,
Speaker 1: fourteen suspects have been arrested and will be transferred to
Speaker 1: Abouja for further interrogation. This barbaric act is unacceptable and
Speaker 1: both the Edo State government and the Federal government under
Speaker 1: the directive of President Bola Ahmed t Enubu, are taking
Speaker 1: swift and decisive action to bring all culprits to book.
Speaker 1: We have also set up a committee to support the
Speaker 1: victim's families. Currently, iron My team a meeting with the
Speaker 1: Carno State Governor to further address concerns and strengthen peace efforts.
Speaker 1: Justice must be served. Edo State stands for peace, unity
Speaker 1: and security. The Nigeria Police Force, in a statement issued
Speaker 1: at the weekend by the force Public relations Officer Olomi
Speaker 1: had A Joby, indicated that the Inspector General of Police IGP,
Speaker 1: car Yode Adelu Egbato CAN has strongly condemned the violent
Speaker 1: mob action carried out against a group of travelers by
Speaker 1: a local vigilante group along the Aromi Hobijana Road in
Speaker 1: Edo State. The group of individuals, who were traveling in
Speaker 1: a truck and claimed to be hunters, were found in
Speaker 1: possession of nineteen nineteen locally fabricated firearms. When intercepted by
Speaker 1: the vigilantes, who were not satisfied with the excuse of
Speaker 1: being hunters to be in possession of such number of arms,
Speaker 1: concluded they were kidnappers. Regrettably, without allowing for due process
Speaker 1: or proper investigation into their claims, the vigilante group subjected
Speaker 1: some of them to unlawful mob justice, resulting in tragic consequences.
Speaker 1: In immediate response, the Edo State Police Command deployed operatives
Speaker 1: to the affected community, restoring law and order. So far,
Speaker 1: fourteen fourteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident,
Speaker 1: while a man hunt has been launched for other perpetrators
Speaker 1: involved in the mob action. The IGP has directed the
Speaker 1: Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force
Speaker 1: Criminal Investigation Department FCID dig C D. Kabubaka to take
Speaker 1: over the case and insure a thorough, impartial and expedited investigation.
Speaker 1: He assured the public that the Nigeria Police Force remains
Speaker 1: committed to upholding the rule of law and will not
Speaker 1: tolerate any form of unlawful killings or extra judicial actions
Speaker 1: under any guise. The IGP further appeals for calm and
Speaker 1: urges members of the public to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Speaker 1: He emphasized that anyone found culpable will be made to
Speaker 1: face the full weight of the law. Additionally, while condemning
Speaker 1: the resort to jungle justice, the Nigeria Police Force reiterates
Speaker 1: that the unlawful possession of firearms remains a criminal offense
Speaker 1: under Nigerian law. Individuals in possession of unlicensed firearms are
Speaker 1: advised to report to the nearest police station to surrender
Speaker 1: such weapons or initiate the appropriate licensing process. The Force
Speaker 1: war the public to desist from taking the law into
Speaker 1: their hands and encourages the prompt reporting of suspicious activities
Speaker 1: to lawful authorities. The police statement ends. Earlier, the Edo
Speaker 1: State Command of the Nigeria Police Force narrated how the
Speaker 1: incident occurred when the local vigilante group members intercepted a
Speaker 1: Dangote cement truck and found the travelers to be in
Speaker 1: possession of guns. In a statement issued by the police Command,
Speaker 1: spokesperson Moses Yamu indicated that the Edo State Police Command
Speaker 1: has condemned the killing of some armed travelers in a
Speaker 1: trak at Udu Nafandian community along Aromi Abajana Expressway, Edo
Speaker 1: State on the twenty seventh of March twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1: The incident occurred when the truck with registration number KKF
Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty five XA, coming from Portharcourt, conveying
Speaker 1: twenty five travelers from a Lela, a suburb of Rivers State,
Speaker 1: was accosted by some vigilante group members at Aromi and
Speaker 1: some of the travelers, who found in possession of locally
Speaker 1: made Dane guns, were arrested. While this was ongoing, some
Speaker 1: vigilante members raised an alarm of them being suspected kidnappers,
Speaker 1: which led some members and passes be in the community
Speaker 1: to attack and lynch sixteen sixteen of the occupants while
Speaker 1: the truck conveying them was equally burnt. Police operatives attached
Speaker 1: to the Aromi Division got wind of the incident and
Speaker 1: swiftly stormed the scene, where ten of the travelers were
Speaker 1: rescued two two of whom sustained various degrees of injuries
Speaker 1: and were rushed to a hospital where they are currently
Speaker 1: positively responding to treatment. In the course of investigations, fourteen
Speaker 1: fourteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime,
Speaker 1: while an emergency meeting was convened with stakeholders and members
Speaker 1: of the community to address the situation. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: a unit of police Mobile Force personnel with other command
Speaker 1: tactical teams have been deployed to the area to forestall
Speaker 1: breakdown of law and order. While the Commissioner of Police
Speaker 1: reiterates the need for peaceful coexistence among various groups and
Speaker 1: urges residents to remain calm and cooperate with the police
Speaker 1: as investigations continue. She also cautioned against any form of
Speaker 1: reprisal attacks or unlawful gatherings that may further escalate tensions.
Speaker 1: The Edo State Police Command statement ends. The Benin Solidarity
Speaker 1: Movement BSM Worldwide has condemned the bearing of firearms by
Speaker 1: the travelers while condemning the jungle justice melted on them.
Speaker 1: The group, in a statement signed by Curtis Ego so
Speaker 1: Bugbo and oss and Ossahai good Luck, President and Secretary
Speaker 1: of the Benin Solidarity Movement BSM Worldwide, made available to
Speaker 1: newsmen in Benine's city, said that there are so many
Speaker 1: questions to be asked. According to the group, those who
Speaker 1: are supporting the action of the travelers apprehended at Aromi
Speaker 1: should tell the whole world why they were bearing arms
Speaker 1: and entering Aromi with arms, whether the action of the
Speaker 1: gunmen is not a premeditated plan to invade a Romi
Speaker 1: and its neighboring communities. They also urged the supporters of
Speaker 1: the gunman weather Dangotte trucks conveying the gunmen is a
Speaker 1: passenger vehicle also let them explain whether Southerners living in
Speaker 1: the northern part of the country can carry firearms illegally.
Speaker 1: Why did they refuse to submit themselves to search when
Speaker 1: the vigilantes wanted to search them, but rather stabbed one
Speaker 1: of the vigilantes instead of submitting to the search. Why
Speaker 1: were they carrying arms into Aromi? What is the guarantee
Speaker 1: that they were not coming to invade Romi and other
Speaker 1: communities in Edo State? While calling on the politicians whom
Speaker 1: they alleged to be supporters of the gunmen, to refrain
Speaker 1: from making inflammatory statements. They called on the security agencies
Speaker 1: to investigate the alleged supporters of the gunmen accosted at
Speaker 1: Aromi with a view to determining their involvement or collaboration
Speaker 1: with kidnappers and bandits that are now invading communities in
Speaker 1: Edo's state, and called on a Romi people to be
Speaker 1: vigilant as some unscrupulous elements may want to invade the
Speaker 1: community under the guise of reprisal. We had reported that
Speaker 1: the men of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested a
Speaker 1: twenty seven years old man who Dama were for killing
Speaker 1: and cutting off the head of a forty three years
Speaker 1: old man a doob or Lawrence, who live in the
Speaker 1: same Ebutubu quarters with him when the victim was returning
Speaker 1: from bury old ceremony at one o'clock midnight. According to
Speaker 1: the state owned television station Heado Broadcasting Service EBS, for
Speaker 1: the purpose of money ritual which Luck ran against him.
Speaker 1: When police and vigilante members on patrol intercepted him, he
Speaker 1: ran abandoning the polythene bag containing the fresh human head
Speaker 1: and he was subsequently arrested after the security operatives gave
Speaker 1: him a chase. We have reported that another set of
Speaker 1: Edo farmers named Lucky Salami and Julius Aroa have been
Speaker 1: maketed to death at Eware community in the Hetsaco West
Speaker 1: local government area of Edo State by attacks the villages
Speaker 1: suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, days after suspected herders killed
Speaker 1: other farmers in the state and Era Heguary Opekpe among others,
Speaker 1: with the kinsmen of the current senator representing Edo North
Speaker 1: who was once the governor of the state, Comrade Adams
Speaker 1: Oshio Mold calling on the government to rescue them from
Speaker 1: Fulani herdsmen they claimed irresponsible for the frequent attacks both
Speaker 1: on lives and the destructions of their farm lands in
Speaker 1: the Edo North Senatorial District often known as a Femi land.
Speaker 1: We had reported that the Edo State Governor, Monday og
Speaker 1: Pepolo has blamed militants and herders over the killing of
Speaker 1: twenty four persons in Meidote Bellamonte, among other five villages
Speaker 1: in the Ovia South West Local government area and Ogpekpey
Speaker 1: in the Edsaco East Local government area of Edo State.
Speaker 1: Says he has deployed more troops to the affected communities
Speaker 1: with aide. News media showed on the spat assessment video
Speaker 1: footage of some residents fleeing the communities as Another report
Speaker 1: indicated that a little boy was also killed on Friday
Speaker 1: at eguarey Arua in the Essen Central Local government area
Speaker 1: of the state. We had reported that the immediate past
Speaker 1: Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obosseki, has sent some words
Speaker 1: of sympathy to the people of Oppekpe community in the
Speaker 1: Etsaco East Local government area of Edo State following the
Speaker 1: killing of two persons batimw Philippe Kamo and Christopher Bellow
Speaker 1: by suspected herdsman on Monday, calling on the state Governor
Speaker 1: Monday Okpepolo and other authorities responsible for the security of
Speaker 1: the state to act swiftly, just as the Council Chairperson
Speaker 1: in charge of the local government, benedicta Atta, raised alarm
Speaker 1: that if the state government fails to act fast, the
Speaker 1: entire north Immy people may be wiped out by the
Speaker 1: suspected Fulani herders. With another report of the head of
Speaker 1: the vigilante group in Era community in the Owen East
Speaker 1: Local government area of the state, Victor Ojendibay, also killed
Speaker 1: in cold blood by attackers suspected to be Fulani herdsman. Previously,
Speaker 1: we reported that the Edo State Command of the Nigeria
Speaker 1: Police Force has confirmed the killing of seven persons on
Speaker 1: Friday during a communal clash between the people of Bellamonte
Speaker 1: and meido Te communities in the Ovia South West Local
Speaker 1: government of Edo State, with the police also arresting a
Speaker 1: member of the Edo State Vigilante Group who shot dead
Speaker 1: and set ablaze a victim he falsely accused of being
Speaker 1: a thief out of malice due to misunderstanding the vigilante
Speaker 1: member had with the deceased. Just as the new Commissioner
Speaker 1: of Police a Neck Panotomenian subjects police personnel in the
Speaker 1: state to RETRAININGI quindi nimoigical