Obaseki to sustain engagement over return of Benin artefacts

The Edo State Government has pledged its readiness to act transparently and in consonance with Federal and state laws in all matters relating to the proposed return of the looted Benin artefacts and monuments.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, made the state government’s position known in a statement issued yesterday in Benin City.

Ogie explained that the government’s action so far on the issue had been driven by selfless, patriotic considerations and in the best interest of the Edo people.

He said Governor Godwin Obaseki would continue to respect the Benin traditional institution and would continue to sustain discussions over his concerns.

Ogie noted that Obaseki had ordered that no one, whether in government or acting independently, should on no account engage in disrespectful exchanges with the Oba or the Benin Royal Palace.

“The attention of the Edo State Government has been drawn to a publication issued by the Palace of the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, which appears to have created the impression that there is a conflict between the state government and the Palace with regards to the stolen artefacts to be returned to Nigeria,” the statement reads.

He noted that Obaseki expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and other federal government officials for their interventions that resulted in the achievement, which had remained elusive for over a century.

BESIDES, the traditional ruler of Ekpoma, Zaiki Anthony Abumere ll, yesterday, charged the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to deploy new security strategies to tackle insecurity on the Benin-Auchi highway.

He made the call when the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Philip Ogbadu, visited his palace in Ekpoma, Esan West Council of Edo State.

Abumere, who lamented that the security situation on the highway had assumed a worrisome dimension, making travelling on the road a nightmare, enjoined the police to collaborate with other security agencies to check criminal elements on the road.

He also Urged Ogbadu to find a way of protecting informants, with a view to encouraging more members of the public to constantly volunteer information to the police, since intelligence was crucial to fighting crime.

Responding, Ogbadu said the police were already making arrangements to effectively check insecurity on the Benin-Auchi Highway.