The Edo Government has finalized plans to eradicate criminal cult groups and ‘Okaigheles’ (youth leaders) from the state, following the recent attack on soldiers in Okomu community by criminals and cultists.

Chris Nehikhare, the State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, expressed this during a visit to wounded soldiers and a police officer at the Military Base Hospital in Benin.

The government will cover the medical expenses of the injured military personnel and has established a taskforce, led by the Director of the State Security, DSS, to address the issue of cultism in the state.

Governor Godwin Obaseki strongly condemned the attack on military personnel and emphasized the need to tackle the security threats posed by these groups in Edo.

“This is happening in Edo; the gunboat they were in was wrecked and filled with bullets.

“We do not want to find ourselves in a position where civilians or dangerous cult groups will take our soldiers.”

The commissioner begged Edo South leaders to control their offspring and those they had, in one way or another, armed.

“We have hurriedly travelled to see the injured officers and the Army to reassure them that the Edo Government will not put up with this inappropriate conduct.

“We do not want a recurrence of the recent events in Delta, or what occurred in the Odi village in Bayelsa, to occur here in Edo.

“This is a grave issue, and all Edo people—regardless of their political beliefs—need to stand with the government in its struggle against ongoing cultism and murders.

“We have lost no fewer than 150 people in cult-related violence since January,” he declared.

He complimented the Army on being a law-abiding organisation that refrained from enforcing its own laws.