<\/p>\n
The Edo State Government has secured the release of several students from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, who were previously detained and held at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre. <\/p>\n
These students were arrested following a recent demonstration in the Ekpoma region that escalated into a significant security disturbance.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued on Thursday, Patrick Ebojele, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, confirmed that the students have regained their freedom. <\/p>\n
Their release comes after they were among a group of 52 persons remanded by a Benin High Court. The charges brought against the group included armed robbery and malicious damage to property.<\/p>\n
The situation originated from what was intended to be a peaceful march against insecurity last Saturday. <\/p>\n
However, the event reportedly took a dark turn when hoodlums hijacked the process. Viral videos on social media depicted chaotic scenes of blocked roads, burning tyres, and attacks on local traders, prompting a swift intervention from security agencies.<\/p>\n
During a stakeholders\u2019 engagement held at the Government House Banquet Hall in Benin, Governor Okpebholo personally addressed the released students. <\/p>\n
He expressed deep sorrow over the violence, emphasizing that such acts contradict his administration\u2019s goal to transform the state-owned university.<\/p>\n
The Governor voiced his frustration during the meeting, stating, \u201cI was highly in pain when I saw what was happening in my place. The day I was sworn in, I said I was going to revive Ambrose Alli University.\u201d<\/p>\n
Governor Okpebholo further highlighted the financial mismanagement that plagued the institution under the previous administration. He noted that while the university was struggling with a meager monthly allocation of \u20a641 million for all its operations, a single consultant was allegedly receiving \u20a659 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were paying light bills, water, printing, salaries and everything from \u20a641 million, which was not enough for anything at all. But on record, one consultant was receiving \u20a659 million under the last administration, while the entire university community was receiving \u20a641 million,\u201d he disclosed.<\/p>\n
To remedy this, the Governor mentioned that his administration has already increased the university\u2019s monthly subvention to \u20a6500 million. He explained that since his assumption of office, the focus has been on \u201chow to revive the school, how to move the school forward and how to reposition it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing the massive \u20a641 billion debt in salary and wage arrears inherited by his government, Okpebholo assured staff that plans are being structured to clear the backlog gradually. However, he warned the students to remain vigilant against political and criminal exploitation.<\/p>\n
He cautioned, \u201cSomebody said he is a student, and he protests. What are you protesting for? Don\u2019t allow yourself to be used. Read your books so that you can be like us.\u201d<\/p>\n
While acknowledging that insecurity remains a national challenge, the Governor pointed out that local intelligence suggested many criminal acts in Ekpoma were perpetrated by individuals within the community. He reiterated that his administration has no room for criminals and that dialogue remains his preferred path for resolving grievances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same way you are afraid of your life, is the same way I am afraid of my life. Kidnappers do not know the status of anybody, and so it\u2019s a common problem we all have,\u201d the Governor added.<\/p>\n
The Commissioner for Education, Dr. Paddy Iyamu, along with other top officials including Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa and Chief of Staff Gani Audu, attended the engagement. <\/p>\n
They all praised the Governor for prioritizing the future of the students and choosing a reconciliatory approach over continued legal detention.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Edo State Government has secured the release of several students from Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, who were previously detained and held at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre. These students were arrested following a recent demonstration in the Ekpoma region that escalated into a significant security disturbance. In a statement issued on Thursday, Patrick Ebojele, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":239399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/b8133371-049c-4b09-91e7-9adac8c67d15.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}