Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has appealed to pastors in Edo State not to approach him to beg for any arrested crime suspect, declaring that he would not entertain such intervention.
Governor Okpebholo also condemned alleged attempts by political opponents to bring down his government and discredit it by exaggerating insecurity in the state.
While admitting that the state was not free from insecurity, he however insisted that things are not as bad as “they are hyping it.”

Speaking on Wednesday while addressing participants at the 2026 Ministers’ Conference organised by the Edo State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo also said that criminal networks operating in the state were being reinforced with recruits from other parts of the country with local collaborators arranging kidnap-for-ransom operations and handing over victims to hired gangs in the bush.

He said that while insecurity remained a genuine concern, much of what was being circulated on social media about the situation in Edo was false and orchestrated to discredit his administration.
He cited a recent example in which he claimed he received a report of an incident along the Sapele Road and immediately deployed security operatives to the area, only to discover that nothing had happened.

“Do you know one funny thing — 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.
“Tomorrow, you will see them driving expensive cars and building houses. How are they getting these things? They will tell you they are Yahoo Boys,” the governor said.

Appealing to religious leaders not to intervene on behalf of anyone arrested in connection with criminal activity, saying such interventions would not be entertained, Governor Okpebholo pleaded: “Pastors, if you hear that I have arrested somebody, don’t come to beg me.”
While acknowledging that the state was not entirely free from security challenges, he insisted that the situation was being exaggerated by those with political motives.

According to the governor, “All of this is just to bring this government down, to give it a bad name. It is not that we are free, but not in the way they are hyping it.”
He assured residents that security operatives were working round the clock to prevent criminals from establishing a foothold in the state.

Governor Okpebholo also requested a special prayer for President Bola Tinubu from the congregation, saying the President’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy, though painful, was responsible for the development now visible across Edo State.

In her remarks, Pastor Margaret Agbonifo, Edo State Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, (PFN) and the General Overseer of the Family Intercessory Ministries in Benin City, commended the governor for his commitment to faith and public service and prayed that he would complete his tenure strong and leave Edo better than he met it.

Also speaking, the Vice Chairman of CAN in Edo, Rev. Alfred Agbonlahor praised the governor for the ongoing rehabilitation of the Benin-Sapele Road.

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Adekunbi Ero

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