…Say local collaborators drive crime in Edo, Anambra
Governors of Edo and Anambra states, Senator Monday Okpebholo and Chukwuma Soludo, have challenged the widespread perception that Fulani herders are primarily responsible for kidnappings and violent crimes in their states, insisting that many of those involved are local actors working within organized criminal networks.
Speaking recently at the 2026 Ministers’ Conference organised by the Edo State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Benin City, Okpebholo said criminal activities in Edo are often carried out with the support of local collaborators who recruit and work with gangs brought in from outside the state.
According to the governor, some residents arrange kidnappings for ransom and hand over victims to criminal groups hiding in forests and remote locations. “Our people are now going outside Edo to recruit criminals to help them do the job. They will kidnap somebody and hand the victim over to them in the bush,” Okpebholo said, adding that many individuals who suddenly display unexplained wealth often conceal the proceeds of criminal activities behind claims of internet fraud.
The governor acknowledged that insecurity remains a concern in the state but argued that the situation is being exaggerated by political opponents seeking to discredit his administration. He also urged religious leaders not to intervene on behalf of individuals arrested for criminal offences.
To strengthen security across rural communities, the Edo State Government announced the recruitment and training of forest guards drawn from indigenous communities and local government areas. The initiative, according to the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Patrick Ebojele, is aimed at improving surveillance and securing forests and farmlands through the use of personnel with deep knowledge of the local terrain.
Ebojele said the programme forms part of the administration’s broader security strategy and revealed that security agencies had launched investigations into the recent abduction of a woman at the Vegetable Market in Benin City following directives from the governor.
Recall that Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Soludo had in July 2025 dismissed claims that Fulani herders were largely responsible for criminal activities in the South-East, saying nearly all suspected kidnappers and criminals arrested in the state during his administration were of Igbo origin.
Speaking during a town hall meeting with Anambra indigenes in the diaspora in Maryland, United States, Soludo said security records from the past three years showed that “99.99 percent” of those arrested for kidnapping and other crimes were Igbo youths. “I want you to quote me right – 99.99% of all the criminals we have arrested are Igbos. All these camps are Igbos”, Soludo stated.
The governor said he initially believed the narrative that Fulani herders were behind the violence in the region but later discovered that many criminal camps dismantled by security agencies were operated by locals. According to him, the false perception created an environment in which some youths embraced kidnapping as a lucrative venture, following internet fraud and drug trafficking.
Soludo further alleged that some criminals from neighbouring states travel to Anambra to join kidnapping syndicates, undergo training in forest camps, and later blame Fulani herders when arrested.
