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June 04, 2026
OBASEKI’S REVISIONISM VS REALITY: THE DATA, LAW, AND SOCIAL ORDER TEST ON EDO SECURITY
I watched the video clip where former Governor Godwin Obaseki attributed Edo’s current security challenges to Governor Monday Okpebholo. The claim fails the evidence test. In law and public administration, governance is audited by records, not rhetoric. Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution commands: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the supreme purpose of government.” Let the records speak.
I watched the video clip where former Governor Godwin Obaseki attributed Edo’s current security challenges to Governor Monday Okpebholo. The claim fails the evidence test. In law and public administration, governance is audited by records, not rhetoric. Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution commands: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the supreme purpose of government.” Let the records speak.
1. The Security Record 2016-2024 Under Obaseki: Fever Pitch*
The 8-year Obaseki tenure was defined by normalized insecurity:
*a. Kidnapping and Cult Killings*
Edo consistently ranked among Nigeria’s top kidnapping states. Police data shows cultism and kidnapping remained endemic. Between April-July 2025 alone, 175 suspects were arrested: 124 for cultism, 40 for kidnapping. In 2025 year-to-date, 821 suspects were arrested including 171 kidnapping suspects and 239 cultism suspects. This pattern was worse 2016-2024 when cult clashes in Benin, Auchi, Ekpoma, and Uromi turned streets into battlegrounds. December became “cult war month” every year.
Under Obaseki, daily cult-related killings were staggering, merciless, brutish, and nasty. Bodies were dumped on roadsides. Young men were beheaded, mutilated, and displayed as warning. The violence was ritualistic and designed to terrorize. Families buried children weekly. Markets shut by 6pm. Nightlife died.
In 2023 alone, over 200 cult-related deaths were recorded by civil society trackers. Instead of dismantling the gangs, reports indicated that notorious cult leaders enjoyed political patronage and protection. When government cozies up to gangs for electoral advantage, governance dies.
*b. Budgetary Neglect of Security Infrastructure*
Under Obaseki, security funding was opaque and under-deployed:
1. *2019 Budget*: Only ₦2 billion allocated to “security” via State Security Trust Fund.
2. *2024 Budget*: Of ₦325.3bn total budget, security was lumped under vague “other government activities” with no dedicated capital line for vehicles, surveillance, or mobility.
3. *Audit Panel Finding*: An administrative panel in 2024 indicted Obaseki’s tenure for N96bn financial mismanagement, with N95.08bn received by 18 LGAs but “little to show in terms of meaningful projects”. When mobility, logistics, and forensic infrastructure are missing, kidnappers own the forests.
Result: Governance and social order existed more in press releases than in villages. Marauding thrived because the state under-invested in operational capacity.
As I submit: *“Where budgets hide from audit, crime writes the report.”* Edo people read that report daily for 8 years.
*2. The Okpebholo Record 2024-2026: Investment, Mobility, and Enforcement*
Governor Monday Okpebholo inherited a broken security architecture. Within 12 months, he reversed the trend with visible, measurable investments:
*a. Security Vehicles & Mobility Logistics*
1. *Hilux and Prado*: February 2025 — 78 brand-new Toyota Hilux patrol vans and 16 Prado Jeeps with communication gadgets commissioned.
2. *Cumulative Total*: By December 2025 budget presentation, 80 Hilux patrol vans and 400 motorcycles supplied to security agencies.
3. *Motorcycles for Terrain*: September 2025 — 300 motorbikes donated specifically for forest/riverine access where vehicles cannot go. EXCO later approved additional 111 motorbikes, bringing total beyond 400 units.
4. *Command and Control*: Investment in surveillance cameras and state-of-the-art Command and Control Centre for smart policing.
Police Commissioner confirmed: motorbikes now let officers “go deep into forests where criminals hide”. That’s the difference between rhetoric and reach.
*b. Legal & Institutional Enforcement*
1. *Anti-Cult Law 2025*: Repealed 2018 law. New law prescribes death by hanging for cult killings and 21 years imprisonment and demolition of convicted persons’ property.
2. *Operation Flush Out Kidnappers*: July 2025 — special security squad launched targeting hotspots.
3. *Arms Recovery*: Over 5,000 illegal arms recovered/mopped up.
*c. Security vs Social Investment: Agriculture and Education as Direct Policing*
Okpebholo understands criminology law: unemployment and illiteracy = recruitment pool for cults. So he invested in social sectors as indirect security:
*Education Funding:*
1. *₦1 Billion Annual Bursary*: Approved for Edo indigenes in tertiary institutions nationwide. FY 2026 budget allocates ₦2.1bn to Edo State Bursary and Scholarship Board.
2. *Teacher Employment*: 4,000 volunteer EdoSTAR teachers absorbed as permanent staff over 500 new teachers recruited. Over 5,000 contract teachers regularized with appointment letters.
3. *Infrastructure*: Over 68 new schools built in less than 1 year. ₦48bn appropriated to education in 2025 budget.
*Agriculture:* EXCO approved 5 bulldozers and 1 lowbed truck for Ministry of Agriculture, ending era of wasteful equipment hiring. ₦4.5bn appropriated for agriculture in 2025 budget.
Compare this to Obaseki’s 2024 budget: only ₦32.2bn to education and 2% to agriculture. Meanwhile Obaseki’s last-minute 4,000 teacher recruitment was described by APC transition committee as “overloading the system” after 8 years of no teacher hiring.
As I state: *“A jobless graduate is a ready recruit. A fed farmer does not fight for land.”* Okpebholo is policing with development.
*3. Administrative Law: Negligence vs Due Diligence*
In administrative law, liability arises from foreseeable harm and failure to act. Under Obaseki: cult gangs operated openly, kidnappers taxed highways, robbery became street economy. Foreseeable, yet under-funded and under-enforced.
Okpebholo’s approach meets the due diligence test: deploy mobility, strengthen law, fund social sectors, audit expenditure. That’s governance.
My position remains: *“Leadership that explains yesterday has no plan for tomorrow.”* Obaseki explains. Okpebholo plans.
*Conclusion: The Data Verdict*
Former Governor Obaseki’s claim is false in law, false in finance, false in fact. Security under his watch was at fever pitch: kidnapping, cult killings, robbery, farmers/herders clashes. Daily cult murders were staggering, merciless, brutish, and nasty. Budgets allocated billions but delivered little mobility or enforcement.
Governor Monday Okpebholo met decay and chose action: 80 Hilux vans, over 400 motorbikes, death penalty for cult killings, ₦1bn annual bursary, 5,000 teachers regularized, 68 new schools.
Edo people know the difference now. Between governance and grandstanding. Between public order and press conference. Between a governor who enforces and one who explains. Between investing in security and social order, and investing in optics.
*OSIFO, Osa Washington, Ph.D.*
1. The Security Record 2016-2024 Under Obaseki: Fever Pitch*
The 8-year Obaseki tenure was defined by normalized insecurity:
*a. Kidnapping and Cult Killings*
Edo consistently ranked among Nigeria’s top kidnapping states. Police data shows cultism and kidnapping remained endemic. Between April-July 2025 alone, 175 suspects were arrested: 124 for cultism, 40 for kidnapping. In 2025 year-to-date, 821 suspects were arrested including 171 kidnapping suspects and 239 cultism suspects. This pattern was worse 2016-2024 when cult clashes in Benin, Auchi, Ekpoma, and Uromi turned streets into battlegrounds. December became “cult war month” every year.
Under Obaseki, daily cult-related killings were staggering, merciless, brutish, and nasty. Bodies were dumped on roadsides. Young men were beheaded, mutilated, and displayed as warning. The violence was ritualistic and designed to terrorize. Families buried children weekly. Markets shut by 6pm. Nightlife died.
In 2023 alone, over 200 cult-related deaths were recorded by civil society trackers. Instead of dismantling the gangs, reports indicated that notorious cult leaders enjoyed political patronage and protection. When government cozies up to gangs for electoral advantage, governance dies.
*b. Budgetary Neglect of Security Infrastructure*
Under Obaseki, security funding was opaque and under-deployed:
1. *2019 Budget*: Only ₦2 billion allocated to “security” via State Security Trust Fund.
2. *2024 Budget*: Of ₦325.3bn total budget, security was lumped under vague “other government activities” with no dedicated capital line for vehicles, surveillance, or mobility.
3. *Audit Panel Finding*: An administrative panel in 2024 indicted Obaseki’s tenure for N96bn financial mismanagement, with N95.08bn received by 18 LGAs but “little to show in terms of meaningful projects”. When mobility, logistics, and forensic infrastructure are missing, kidnappers own the forests.
Result: Governance and social order existed more in press releases than in villages. Marauding thrived because the state under-invested in operational capacity.
As I submit: *“Where budgets hide from audit, crime writes the report.”* Edo people read that report daily for 8 years.
*2. The Okpebholo Record 2024-2026: Investment, Mobility, and Enforcement*
Governor Monday Okpebholo inherited a broken security architecture. Within 12 months, he reversed the trend with visible, measurable investments:
*a. Security Vehicles & Mobility Logistics*
1. *Hilux and Prado*: February 2025 — 78 brand-new Toyota Hilux patrol vans and 16 Prado Jeeps with communication gadgets commissioned.
2. *Cumulative Total*: By December 2025 budget presentation, 80 Hilux patrol vans and 400 motorcycles supplied to security agencies.
3. *Motorcycles for Terrain*: September 2025 — 300 motorbikes donated specifically for forest/riverine access where vehicles cannot go. EXCO later approved additional 111 motorbikes, bringing total beyond 400 units.
4. *Command and Control*: Investment in surveillance cameras and state-of-the-art Command and Control Centre for smart policing.
Police Commissioner confirmed: motorbikes now let officers “go deep into forests where criminals hide”. That’s the difference between rhetoric and reach.
*b. Legal & Institutional Enforcement*
1. *Anti-Cult Law 2025*: Repealed 2018 law. New law prescribes death by hanging for cult killings and 21 years imprisonment and demolition of convicted persons’ property.
2. *Operation Flush Out Kidnappers*: July 2025 — special security squad launched targeting hotspots.
3. *Arms Recovery*: Over 5,000 illegal arms recovered/mopped up.
*c. Security vs Social Investment: Agriculture and Education as Direct Policing*
Okpebholo understands criminology law: unemployment and illiteracy = recruitment pool for cults. So he invested in social sectors as indirect security:
*Education Funding:*
1. *₦1 Billion Annual Bursary*: Approved for Edo indigenes in tertiary institutions nationwide. FY 2026 budget allocates ₦2.1bn to Edo State Bursary and Scholarship Board.
2. *Teacher Employment*: 4,000 volunteer EdoSTAR teachers absorbed as permanent staff over 500 new teachers recruited. Over 5,000 contract teachers regularized with appointment letters.
3. *Infrastructure*: Over 68 new schools built in less than 1 year. ₦48bn appropriated to education in 2025 budget.
*Agriculture:* EXCO approved 5 bulldozers and 1 lowbed truck for Ministry of Agriculture, ending era of wasteful equipment hiring. ₦4.5bn appropriated for agriculture in 2025 budget.
Compare this to Obaseki’s 2024 budget: only ₦32.2bn to education and 2% to agriculture. Meanwhile Obaseki’s last-minute 4,000 teacher recruitment was described by APC transition committee as “overloading the system” after 8 years of no teacher hiring.
As I state: *“A jobless graduate is a ready recruit. A fed farmer does not fight for land.”* Okpebholo is policing with development.
*3. Administrative Law: Negligence vs Due Diligence*
In administrative law, liability arises from foreseeable harm and failure to act. Under Obaseki: cult gangs operated openly, kidnappers taxed highways, robbery became street economy. Foreseeable, yet under-funded and under-enforced.
Okpebholo’s approach meets the due diligence test: deploy mobility, strengthen law, fund social sectors, audit expenditure. That’s governance.
My position remains: *“Leadership that explains yesterday has no plan for tomorrow.”* Obaseki explains. Okpebholo plans.
*Conclusion: The Data Verdict*
Former Governor Obaseki’s claim is false in law, false in finance, false in fact. Security under his watch was at fever pitch: kidnapping, cult killings, robbery, farmers/herders clashes. Daily cult murders were staggering, merciless, brutish, and nasty. Budgets allocated billions but delivered little mobility or enforcement.
Governor Monday Okpebholo met decay and chose action: 80 Hilux vans, over 400 motorbikes, death penalty for cult killings, ₦1bn annual bursary, 5,000 teachers regularized, 68 new schools.
Edo people know the difference now. Between governance and grandstanding. Between public order and press conference. Between a governor who enforces and one who explains. Between investing in security and social order, and investing in optics.
*OSIFO, Osa Washington, Ph.D.*
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