Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has announced that a total of 129 homicide and cult-related cases were reported in the state over the past two months. This disclosure came during a press briefing following the monthly Security Council meeting at the Government House in Benin City.
Governor Obaseki revealed that the figures included 79 cases in June and 50 cases in July. He noted a significant reduction from the 129 cases reported in May alone, indicating a positive trend in the state’s security situation.
The governor attributed this improvement to the efforts of a special task force led by the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), which was established in May 2024 to address the escalating cult-related violence in Edo State.
“We just finished the Security Council meeting where we reviewed the security situation in Edo State,” Obaseki said. “We also used the opportunity to review our monthly incidence reports and observed that the incidence of cultism and homicide has drastically reduced since we set up the Committee on Cultism.”
The committee was created in response to a surge in criminal activities in May, which saw a high incidence of cultism, homicide, and drug-related offenses. Since the committee’s intervention, the number of reported cases has decreased significantly, from 129 in May to 79 in June, and further to 50 in July. Obaseki mentioned that similar trends have been observed in August to date.
In addition to the reduction in incidents, the governor highlighted that numerous arrests have been made, and the Edo State Government is preparing to initiate prosecutions against the suspects. He expressed confidence that the collected evidence will lead to successful convictions.
The governor’s update underscores the state government’s ongoing commitment to improving security and combating criminal activities in Edo State.
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