By Simeon OSAJIE
The senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District of Edo State in the National Assembly, Senator Joseph Ikpea, has thrown his weight behind the proposal by Governor Monday Okpebholo to seek speedy trial of kidnappers and cultists in the state with the aim of making their punishment prompt.
Senator Ikpea, in a statement issued in his Ewatto country-home in Esan South-East Local Government Area of the State and made available to journalists, also commended Governor Okpebholo for the smashing of kidnap syndicates operating in parts of the state, and particularly the rescue of the woman kidnapped in the popular Benin elite market, the Vegetable Market, on Sunday and the arrest of a member of the gang.
The Edo State Police Command with Governor Okpebholo, had on Thursday paraded suspected kidnappers including one of those that participated in the Vegetable Market incident, where the governor said he would not hesitate the setting up a special court that would spend two weeks in the trial of suspected kidnappers and cultists, just as he promised to sign their death warrants and ensure their public execution at the Ring Road roundabout in Benin City, the state capital.
The governor, had, in appreciation of the dexterity displayed by the police in arresting the kidnappers involved in the Vegetable Market incident, announced a financial reward of N10 million.
Reacting to the development, Senator Ikpea commended the support Governor Okpebholo is giving to security agencies for optimum check on insecurity in the state and the efforts the security agencies were putting to ensure a safe state.
According to Ikpea, “Governor Okpebholo’s prompt directive to the Edo police to fish out the perpetrators of the Vegetable Market kidnap incident, immediately after the Sunday incident in Benin and the response of the police and other security agencies that led to the rescue of the kidnapped woman and the arrest of a member of the gang is highly commendable.”
The senator added that the prompt action of the governor “is a clear signal to criminal elements around the state that nowhere is safe for them and a huge confidence booster for the citizens of the state that they are safe.
“As the senator representing Edo Central, I reaffirm my support and determination to collaborate with the state government in ensuring that Edo Central is safe.
“I am also committed to working with my fellow senators in the other senatorial districts to collaborate with the state government to ensure security in all parts of the state,” Ikpea reassured.
The senator reiterated his earlier call on the indigenes and residents of Edo State to make the issue of security as part of the civic responsibilities, stressing that “when everyone is involved in the business of security, all the bad elements in the state will either repent or relocate as they would have realised that Edo State is no safe haven to criminals.”