The Edo State Government on Wednesday announced that 38 students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, arrested in connection with last weekend’s protest in the area, would be released.
The Commissioner for Education, Paddy Iyamu, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday. He explained that while some of the students were freed on Tuesday, others were expected to regain their freedom later on Wednesday.
“We didn’t sleep till 1 a.m. this morning, trying to release the students, some of them yesterday.
“Altogether, we are releasing about 38 students,” Iyamu said.
According to the commissioner, the violence that followed the protest was masterminded by individuals living outside Edo State, who exploited the situation to foment trouble and destroy property.
“On May 13 [2025], if I’m not mistaken, they had a peaceful protest in Edo state. People protested because of the cultism.
“And they did the procession straight to Government House, and the governor received them himself. He took them into his office. After addressing them outside, he took them into his office, and everything went on smooth.
“So one expects that if people are going to be also making their, their pains known, you need to do it in a very orderly manner so that the government in the usual manner will also take steps, but taking laws into their hands, going to steal, going into the palace of the king to do a lot is totally out of it,” he stated.
Iyamu added that following the restoration of calm in the area, the state government had approved the resumption of academic activities at the institution.
“We have released the communiqué this morning. Students are to return to school on Monday.
“The schools resume in the central on Monday because normalcy has been restored. The governor is even still in the general area, trying to make sure that the peace is sustained, and so far, normalcy has been restored. Security agencies are doing a lot,” he added.
The protest in Ekpoma erupted last Saturday when angry youths took to the streets to demonstrate against rising cases of kidnapping and other security challenges in the town, located in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.
A viral video from the Edo Central region showed residents protesting against the increasing incidents of abductions and killings. The footage also captured some individuals, suspected to be cattle breeders, fleeing a market on sighting the protesters.
The police later confirmed that more than 50 persons were arrested after the protest was “hijacked, and all the rules of peaceful protest were ignored, which led to incidents, including malicious damages, looting of property, vandalisation of shops”.
On Monday, the Edo State High Court, Criminal Court 2, ordered the remand of some youths linked to the protest at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre.
However, Governor Monday Okpebholo on Tuesday approved the release of those arrested over the unrest.
During a meeting with the President of the Students’ Union Government of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, the governor maintained that the disturbance was not organised by students of the institution.
He described the incident as a criminal operation carried out by non-students who loiter around the university environment to cause chaos and extort law-abiding students.
“I have met with the SUG President of AAU Ekpoma. We had a very lengthy discussion, and as I have consistently said, this was not a students’ protest.
“These are people who are no longer students but are just hanging around the school, causing trouble and extorting students. We will put an end to that,” Okpebholo said.
What you should know
The Ekpoma protest was triggered by growing insecurity, particularly kidnapping, in Edo Central.
While initially peaceful, authorities say the demonstration was later hijacked by non-students who engaged in looting and vandalism, leading to mass arrests. Governor Monday Okpebholo has insisted that genuine students were not responsible for the violence and approved their release as calm returned to the area.
With security agencies deployed and academic activities set to resume, the Edo State Government says efforts are ongoing to sustain peace and prevent a recurrence of such unrest.
