Following the lynching of 16 travelling Northern hunters by a mob in Uromi, Edo State last Thursday, residents in communities around Old Ilushi Road, Opere, and Good Will Junction in the town have fled for fear of reprisals by aggrieved relations of the slain men and arrests by security agents.
According to a Vanguard report, the residents of Uromi and environs have also stopped going to their farms, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring towns.
This development came as the state governor, Monday Okpebholo went to Kano State, where a larger majority of the victims hailed from yesterday.
The governor, who was received by his Kano counterpart, Kabir Yusuf, assured that justice will prevail for those killed in the mob attack.
Governor Okpebholo also visited the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), where he said the 14 suspects so far arrested in connection with the killings, would soon be moved to Abuja for further interrogation.
Meanwhile, the leading socio-culural platform in the North, the Arewa Consultative Forum (AFC) has called for an independent judicial panel to investigate the killings.
Talking about the circumstances that led to the mob action, some residents explained that they have been subjected to several bandits/herdsmen attacks in the past few months, leading to the anger with which they dealt with the travelling northerners.
Vanguard quoted a resident, who simply gave his name as Monday, as saying, “The community has been plagued by incessant kidnappings, carried out by hunters and herders from the northern part of the country.
”Regarding the present incident, the vigilante group received information from areas on the stretch of Old Ilushi road, from where the travellers were coming, that they had weapons in their vehicle.
‘’When they arrived in Uromi, the vigilantes asked them to step down, but the travellers refused, leading to an altercation. One of them pulled out a knife, prompting the vigilantes to raise an alarm, accusing them of being kidnappers.
Residents’ tales of herdsmen/bandits attacks
“Nobody is justifying the action. However, those who took part in the mob action have fled, while innocent individuals are being arrested.
‘’On Saturday, the police arrested a young man riding a GLK motorcycle near Opere Secondary School, where a wedding ceremony was taking place. The man claimed he was unaware of the previous day’s events.
“The area remains deserted, with few motorbikes passing through. However, at around 12 noon on Monday (yesterday), police returned to arrest more people.
‘’In one of the latest incidents, a young lady was kidnapped in front of her gate on Sunday, March 30, 2025. Her captors had yet to call for ransom as of 2 pm today (yesterday).’’
NEW DAILY PRIME also learned that some residents, especially youths, have been quietly leaving the town for fear of reprisal and arrests by security agents.
Most of the residents who spoke to journalists anonymously, said though they are not justifying the killings, insisted that the victims were suspected kidnappers and not hunters as presented to the public.
They explained that the victims were sighted near Ubiaja, headquarters of Esan South-East, which is close to Uromi.
According to them, Ubiaja is also suffering the same menace of kidnapping and it is where the victims were said to have entered a truck with their arms and cash.
Another resident, who identified himself simply as Mr Akhere, said: “In as much as we are not justifying the killings, because two wrongs don’t make a right, these people are not hunters as claimed because the hunters we have seen also go with dogs.
“Our local vigilantes have been on the trail of these suspected kidnappers. It has been tough for everybody, so on the fateful day, these people were sighted near Ubiaja where they flagged down a truck coming from the east and they entered with their guns and luggage believed to include huge sums of money.
“I think where the vigilantes in Uromi that stopped them missed it was not handing them over to the police, instead of resorting to self-help and you know many of the people who were around have been victims of kidnappings directly and indirectly in the area.
‘’Yes, we condemn the illegal actions but government has also been slow in taking action against these kidnappers. They have been killing, maiming our people and raping our women in the farms.”
Also speaking, another resident, who introduced himself as Peter, said his cousin “has been actively involved in securing the town” but noted that on this particular day, he was not around.
‘’He came into town after the incident but when he saw the way people were being arrested, he had to flee because he would have been arrested, too.
‘’Some other people have also left town because of fear that there could be reprisals, like we heard that earlier today (yesterday) there was panic in Ekpoma.”
It was also learned that there was commotion in the neighbouring Ekpoma Market earlier yesterday, as information filtered in that the Fulani were planning to invade the town, which is not too far from Uromi.
Motorists were said to have made U-turns when the rumour came that the market was about to be attacked.
It was, however, gathered that security personnel were immediately mobilised to the area to restore normalcy.
On what had been her experience in the hands of kidnappers in the area, Jenny Osajie, 30, said her elder brother was kidnapped on his way to the farm and killed when they could not raise a ransom of N5 million.
She said: “They were so bold that they called us to come and pick the dead body of our brother and we actually saw the dead body in the place they described for us. I am a Christian and I have committed everything to God but there is anger everywhere because of what these people have been doing.
‘’Why has the government not acted this way since we have been crying over the activities of herdsmen and kidnappers that have been terrorising us? Is the government biased?”
Gov Okpebholo vows justice
The state governor, Monday Okpebholo yesterday vowed that the perpetrators of the dastardly killings would be fished out and prosecuted, assuring that justice will prevail for the slain northerners.
Okpebholo spoke when he led a delegation to Kano to commiserate with the Kano State government and the residents over the incident.
The governor, who noted that so far, 14 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident, said: “It is like I was the one that was touched by the incident that happened in Uromi. I got the information in the night, that at 4am, I was already set to travel to Uromi.
‘’I’m here to commiserate with the government and good people of Kano State. We have made tremendous progress, I can assure you that Mr. President wasn’t happy at all. He didn’t waste time, he made no mistake to direct the service chiefs to go after the killers. I can assure you that justice will prevail.
“We have so far arrested about 14 people in connection with the killings. The Inspector-General of Police has directed the DIG, AIG at the force headquarters to take over the investigation. After the holiday, these people will be transferred to Abuja for further interrogation and more arrests to be made.’’
Kano gov seeks compensation for victims’ families
His host, Governor Abba Yusuf opposed reprisals, saying it is not the solution to the unfortunate incident but said the perpetrators must be prosecuted.
Governor Yusuf said, “Reprisal is not the solution because it affects innocent people. So, as leaders, we have to come together to fight this unfortunate behaviour. People shouldn’t be taking laws into their hands. It is unconstitutional and should be avoided.
‘’We (leaders) must be seen as protectors of our people. We assure you of maximum cooperation to collaborate with the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators.
“We will want to see them (perpetrators) physically paraded. That will go a long way to make the families happy.
“We appeal to the security agencies to help parade them to make the world see that these are the people that perpetrated the crime. They should be taken to court, so they can reap from what they sowed. The families must be compensated and I believe you will fulfill the promise.
“We appeal to the people to exercise patience, as everything’s being done to ensure justice for the victims.”
Meanwhile, Governor Okpebholo has visited families of the victims in Torankarawa, Bunkure Local Government area of Kano State.
He was accompanied by Governor Yusuf on the visit.
At Torankawa village, home of the bereaved families, Governor Okpebholo promised that compensation would be paid for the killings, pledging also that justice would be served for the victims.
On his part, Governor Yusuf pledged that cash (unspecified amounts) and food stuff (unspecified numbers) would be donated to the families.
The governor promised that the state government will not relent in ensuring justice for the victims.
