On Wednesday, the Edo State Government made public the demolition of two structures in the state that were allegedly utilized for cult-related operations and kidnappings.
One of the structures, according to the state governor Monday Okpebholo, who oversaw their demolition, allegedly belonged to an infamous cult group responsible for recent murders in Benin City. This information was reported by the Naijatrial.
According to Okpebholo, the sites are in the Ogheghe neighborhood of the capital city and near the end of Arena Street in Amagba, which is part of the Government Reservation Area.
He stated that the cult’s operational base had a hall, multiple rooms with mattresses, and offices that were thought to have been the center of the group’s operations.
According to rumors, initiation rites were held in the moat that borders the property. He further claimed that the property included a “Industrial Overhead Stand and Tanks donated by its Asia Region 2016–2021,” among other things.
The governor issued a warning to landlords while razing a building in Benin City’s Ogheghe neighborhood, saying that his government would not hesitate to destroy structures associated with illegal activities like kidnapping, cultism, and rituals.
He went on to say that the Ogheghe building had been used for kidnapping and online fraud, with victims being detained against their will and subjected to ritualistic rites, during the dismantling of the facility.
What is occurring here saddens me. For years, this place was a haven for abducted children. The shrines are visible from this apartment. This is the pinnacle of evildoing. In Edo State, this sort of wickedness is not tolerated.
“The struggle against crime and criminality will not end. We shall track them down and destroy their lairs, wherever they may be. In Edo State, criminals will not find a safe haven. We mean business and are not flinching. “Edo must be safe,” he said.
The governor has declared his intention to turn the locations of destroyed buildings into public spaces.
Additionally, he mentioned that a police station would be constructed by the government on the very spot where the buildings were leveled. Any land where such buildings are taken down will be used to serve the community,” he said passionately.
He added that his administration’s new anti-cultism statute was recently enforced, and that this led to the demolition of the buildings.
According to him, the state government had the authority to destroy properties linked to cult operations because of the legislation.
Okpebholo reaffirmed the administration’s zero-tolerance policy, saying that the Cultism-Related Offenses Law would be applied to everyone without exception and that no one would be spared. He emphasized that the government’s goal is to bring the state back to a condition of calm.