According to the Edo State Government, gunmen in the state last Friday shot three Nigerian Army troops who were assigned to Okomu Oil Palm Plc in the Ovia South West Local Government Area.

According to ZINGTIE, Chris Nehikhare, the State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, revealed this in a statement provided to journalists.

Following the prohibition on Okhaigeles (young leaders) in the seven Local Government Areas that comprise the Edo South Senatorial District, the state government made this announcement.

According to ZINGTIE, the state government and the Palace of the Oba of Benin were at odds over the Okhaigeles’ prohibition.

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The Palace of the Oba of Benin maintained that the Okhaigeles are a part of the customary institutions of the Benin Kingdom and cannot be outlawed by the government, despite the state administration’s insistence that the prohibition cannot be reversed.

The state government gave the following justification for the ban: on Friday, June 7, 2024, in Ovia South West Local Government Area, “some so-called youths” opened fire on three Nigerian Army soldiers who were affiliated with Okomu Oil Palm Plc.

According to Nehikhare, the soldiers’ injuries caused chaos in the neighborhood.

He promised that the government would launch a full-scale operation in the upcoming weeks to disarm the criminal elements and eliminate their danger to the public’s peace.

On June 4, 2024, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki raised the alarm that the state government is engaged in a protracted war with terrorists and bandits during a courtesy visit to Air Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar, the Chief of Air Staff, at Government House in Benin City.

As stated by the governor, “We have a few challenges like the one that relates to the maritime border, particularly the Ovia River axis where we have been having running battles with bandits and terrorists in the last few months.”

According to Obaseki, the Ovia River is used by people to transport weapons and carry out a variety of evil deeds.

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To start developing the Benin River Port and to ensure the safety and security of our partners working there, he stated, “We need calm in that axis.”

He requested the Nigerian Air Force’s assistance to combat insecurity in the area and called for more surveillance in the affected areas.

ZINGTIE recalls that three Okomu Oil Palm Plc employees were shot and killed on Monday, May 6, 2024, while they were working on the plantation.

Additionally, on May 13, 2024, gunmen posing as “Ijaw Freedom Fighters” broke into the Imariogha hamlet in Ovia South West Local Government of Edo State, adjacent to the Okomu Oil palm plantation. They killed one person there and set fire to cars and buildings.

It was learned that the victim’s chest had a message with the demands of the ethnic militias that had penetrated the village by the ethnic militias.

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