President Tinubu Directs Manhunt For Killers Of Edo Alleged Kidnappers

In the Uromi community of Esan North Local Government of Edo State, local vigilantes have murdered traveling hunters who were mistaken for kidnappers by President Bola Tinubu.

Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, said the president was shocked by the reckless behavior on Thursday and had instructed police and other security forces to launch swift and thorough investigations and punish the suspected criminals in a statement released on Friday.

The statement stated in part that “President Tinubu expressed condolences to the families of the affected victims and assured them that innocent Nigerians would not be allowed to shed blood,” adding that the President made it clear that “jungle justice has no place in Nigeria.”

According to Tinubu, all citizens of Nigeria are free to travel wherever they choose. The governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and community leaders in Uromi were then commended by President Tinubu for their swift action in halting the rise in tension.

Following the announcement by Edo police to make 14 arrests for the murder of the travellers, Tinubu responded.

On suspicion of being criminals, a mob brutally murdered the victims. The travelers were allegedly hunters.

The victims’ numbers were reported to be 16 by the Edo State Police Command. However, some individuals have been detained in connection with the attack, according to Moses Yamu, the command’s spokesman.

In a statement released on Friday, Yamu stated in a statement that “in the course of investigations, fourteen (14) suspects have been detained in connection with the crime. An urgent meeting was held with stakeholders and members of the community to address the situation.”

According to the Edo Police Command, the incident occurred when a “truck with registration number KKF 225 XA coming from Port Harcourt, carrying 25 people from Elele, a suburb of Rivers State, was accosted by some vigilante group members at Uromi, and some of the travelers who found themselves in possession of locally made dane guns were arrested.

“Some vigilante members raised the suspicion that they were suspected kidnappers while this was happening, which prompted some community members and bystanders to attack and lynch sixteen (16) of the occupants while the truck transporting them was also burned.

Ten ten (10) of the travelers were rescued, two of whom had various injuries, and were immediately taken to a hospital where they are currently responding to treatment, according to police operatives attached to the Uromi Division.

Yamu claimed that to avert a breakdown in law and order, a unit of the Police Mobile Force and other command tactical teams had been stationed in the area.

The police warned against reprisal attacks in any way and said that “investigaments continue” over the incident.

Read more about the Northern Senators Forum’s condemnation of mob killings in Edo.

The lynching of travelers also caused the Northern Senators Forum to be “deeply disturbed and saddened.”

The sad incident was a case of the victims being identified as Fulani kidnappers, according to a statement signed by group chairman Sen. Abdulaziz Yar’Adua on behalf of the organization.

The gruesome mob killings of innocent Nigerians in Uromi, Edo State on March 27, 2025 has deeply disturbed and sadden the Northern Senators Forum.

These people were travestied as Fulani kidnappers and brutally murdered in a despicable manner, according to the report.

The forum criticized the action, calling it a violation of the victims’ fundamental human rights.

Source: Channels TV