• Deploys forest guards to secure farmlands

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, yesterday, said criminals operating in the state are being reinforced by recruits from other parts of the country.
 
He added that the criminal activities are being carried out with local collaborators arranging kidnap-for-ransom operations and handing over victims to hired gangs in the bush.
 
Okpebholo made this known while addressing participants at the 2026 Ministers’ Conference organised by the Edo State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Benin City.
 
According to the governor, while insecurity remains a genuine concern, much of what was being circulated on social media about the situation in Edo was false and orchestrated to discredit his administration.
 
He cited a recent example in which he received a report of an incident along the Sapele Road and immediately deployed security operatives to the area, only to discover that nothing had happened.
 
“Do you know one funny thing? Our people are now going outside Edo to recruit criminals to help them do the job. They will kidnap somebody and hand the victim over to them in the bush,” the governor said.
 
“Tomorrow, you will see them driving expensive cars and building houses. How are they getting these things? They will tell you they are Yahoo Boys.”
 
The governor urged religious leaders not to intercede on behalf of anyone arrested for criminal activity, saying such interventions would not be entertained.
 
“Pastors, if you hear that I have arrested somebody, don’t come to beg me,” he said. The governor, who acknowledged that the state was not entirely free of security challenges, however, insisted that the situation was being exaggerated by those with political motives.

Meanwhile, the Edo State Government has assured residents that forests and farmlands across the state will soon become safer with the recruitment and ongoing training of forest guards drawn from indigenous populations in local council areas and host communities.
 
Chief Press Secretary to Governor Senator, Dr Patrick Ebojele, disclosed this during a radio programme, As E De Hot’.
 
He explained that the decision to recruit locals was intended to strengthen security operations by leveraging their knowledge of the terrain.
 
“These are people who know the environment. They understand the forests, the pathways, and the communities. That local knowledge is a major advantage in securing rural areas and protecting farmers who depend on these lands,” Ebojele said.
 
He stated that the initiative was part of Okpebholo’s broader security strategy to complement the efforts of conventional security agencies and improve surveillance in rural communities vulnerable to criminal activity.
 
Speaking on last Sunday’s abduction of a woman at the Vegetable Market in Benin City, Ebojele said the Edo State Police Command had commenced investigation immediately after the governor directed security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators were apprehended.