By Simeon OSAJIE
The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a blistering condemnation of the All Progressives Congress (APC)–led Government under Senator Monday Okpebholo, describing its handling of the worsening insecurity in Ekpoma and environs as a combination of incompetence, indifference, and authoritarian reflexes.
In a statement released to newsmen by the Publicity Secretary of the Party in the State, the PDP said Ekpoma had been abandoned to kidnappers and violent criminals, with residents living in fear as attacks escalated unchecked.
The party accused the Okpebholo administration of having no credible security strategy, noting that instead of confronting criminal gangs through intelligence-led policing and coordinated action, the APC government had chosen the easier but disgraceful option of unleashing state power against unarmed, peaceful citizens.
According to the party, “the arrest and continued detention of peaceful protesters, many of them students, exposed what it called the “true character” of the APC government in Edo State: brutal towards citizens, timid before criminals, and hostile to democratic expression.”
“It was unequivocally opposed to kidnapping and killings in all their forms and demanded the immediate dismantling of criminal networks operating freely across Ekpoma and neighbouring communities. It said the persistence of these crimes was a direct indictment of the APC government’s failure to govern,” the party added.
The PDP expressed full solidarity with the people of Ekpoma, particularly the students and residents who organised a peaceful protest against insecurity. It described the protest as lawful, courageous, and constitutionally protected, adding that only a government frightened by accountability would criminalise such civic action.
The party demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all those arrested during and after the protest, reportedly numbering over 52 students, many from Ambrose Alli University. Their continued detention, the PDP said, was oppressive, unlawful, and a blatant abuse of power, warning that Edo State was fast acquiring a reputation for punishing victims while protecting perpetrators.
The statement further criticised the Okpebholo administration for dismantling or neglecting the command-and-control security framework inherited from the administration of Godwin Obaseki. It said Edo State already had security structures in place and that what was missing under the APC was leadership, coordination, seriousness, and political will.
While extending condolences to families of all victims of kidnapping and violence, the PDP said condolences without responsibility were empty. It demanded that the Governor personally visit affected families, confront the human cost of his administration’s failure, and take responsibility for restoring security rather than governing from a distance.
The party also condemned reports that a court had remanded 52 students for protesting insecurity, as widely reported by Sahara Reporters, describing the development as a dangerous descent into repression. It warned that a government that criminalises protest while kidnappers operate with impunity has lost all moral authority to govern.
The PDP declared that it would not be silent while Edo citizens were kidnapped, brutalised, and silenced under APC rule. It stressed that security was the first duty of government and that any administration that failed in this duty and responded with force against its own people would be judged harshly by history.
The party called on the Edo State Government and the Edo State Command of the Nigeria Police Force to immediately reverse what it described as a shameful and dangerous course by releasing all detainees, securing Ekpoma, arresting the kidnappers, and restoring public confidence through lawful, transparent, and people-centred action.
It concluded that anything short of these steps would confirm the Okpebholo administration as a government adrift, incapable of protecting citizens, and more interested in suppressing dissent than in defeating crime.