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Some residents of Edo State are travelling to other parts of Nigeria to recruit criminals for kidnappings and armed robberies, Governor Monday Okpebholo alleged on Wednesday.
Speaking at a conference organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Benin City, the governor said the practice involved hiring outsiders to carry out crimes and hand over victims to local accomplices.
“Our people now recruit criminals to help them do the job, they will kidnap somebody and hand over to the people in the bush,” Okpebholo told participants at the 2026 Ministers’ Conference.
“Tomorrow you will see them driving expensive cars, building houses, how are they getting these things, they will tell you they are ‘Yahoo Boys’,” he said, referring to internet fraudsters. “If you hear that we have arrested somebody, don’t come to beg me.”
The governor also addressed what he described as a wave of false social media reports on insecurity, saying some claims were aimed at discrediting his administration.
He cited an incident along Sapele Road where he deployed security forces following a report, only to discover it was untrue.
“Some reports on insecurity are just to bring this government down, to give this government a bad name but it’s not that there is no insecurity, the false alarms are another issue in this country,” he said.
Okpebholo said volunteers had been deployed in forests to prevent criminals from establishing bases in Edo State.
The governor requested prayers for President Bola Tinubu, describing the fuel subsidy removal as a necessary decision that helped explain the ongoing economic challenges in Nigeria.
Religious leaders at the event commended Okpebholo’s efforts. Pastor Margaret Agbonifo, Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in Edo, offered prayers for the governor.
“Nigeria is alive today is to the glory of God. Thank God for showing us mercy, the enemy doesn’t want to hear the name Nigeria again but by the mercy of God, we shall overcome all our current challenges,” she said.
“You will be the best among all the governors that have ruled Edo, you will not fail, the Lord will strengthen you. Edo will not tell a bad story about you,” she added.
