Authorities Say Criminal Groups Face Hard Time In Edo As Security Operatives Escalate Crackdown

By MIKE OSAROGIAGBON

Nevertheless, dismantling criminal networks requires more than arrests. Successful prosecution, transparent investigations and sustained intelligence gathering will ultimately determine whether these operations produce lasting results or temporary headlines. For the Nigeria Police Force, prosecuting officers accused of betraying their oath would sends a powerful message that no uniform confers immunity from the law. Institutional integrity is strengthened when discipline is visible and impartial. Also, eliminating illegal revenue collectors from public spaces would improve the business environment and reinforce Governor Monday Okpebholo’s commitment to protecting legitimate economic activities from exploitation.

A state gains the upper hand against crime when criminals no longer know who will be arrested next. That maxim aptly captures the current security narrative in Edo State.

Security operations have continued to move from isolated arrests to the systematic and unusual dismantling of organized criminal networks.

Barely a week after Alltimepost.com observed that security agencies had shifted focus from chasing individual offenders to crippling the structures that sustain crime, developments between July 24 and July 31, 2026, suggest that strategy is waxing stronger.

Perhaps the week’s most defining development was the public briefing by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, on the outcome of an intelligence-led investigation into a criminal syndicate allegedly involving serving and dismissed police personnel operating in Benin City, Edo State capital.

During her brief, she stated that the operation was initiated under the leadership of the then Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, now Assistant Inspector-general (AIG) of Police, following several complaints from residents alleging unlawful arrest, abduction and extortion around the Teboga axis off Aduwawa, Benin City.

Investigators uncovered what appeared to be an organized enterprise involving serving police officers, dismissed officers, commercial bus drivers and civilian collaborators who allegedly intercepted unsuspecting victims, forced them into buses and compelled them to withdraw money through Point-of-Sale operators before releasing them.

The significance of the operation lies not only in the arrests but in the institutional response. Acting on intelligence, operatives of the State Intelligence Department (SID) dismantled the syndicate after its members were arrested on April 13, 2026, while subsequent orderly room proceedings ensured disciplinary measures followed investigative findings.

The disciplinary outcome was unprecedented in recent months. AP/No. 324688 Inspector Ehubariemen Wisdom, attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Benin, was reduced in rank from Inspector to Sergeant.

Five officers were dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force and are to face prosecution. They are F/No. 516328 Corporal Mordi Philip (Okhuaihe Division), F/No. 516456 Corporal Destiny Emmanuel (Department of Operations), F/No. 516291 Corporal Uwatse Emmanuel (PMF Squadron 60), F/No. 515970 Corporal Okon Elvis (PMF Squadron 60) and F/No. 515965 Corporal Samuel David Obeten (PMF Squadron 82).

The Command also declared Inspector Enahoro Nicholas, attached to PMF Squadron 60, a deserter after he went into hiding. His continued absence demonstrates that accountability within the Force is extending beyond internal discipline to criminal prosecution.

The Edo operation is not an isolated development. In May 2026, the Nigeria Police Force similarly dismissed five inspectors in Rivers State over their alleged involvement in kidnapping, robbery and extortion after investigations uncovered an organized criminal network operating under the cover of official duties.

 

Like the Edo case, the officers faced orderly room proceedings before dismissal and prosecution, reinforcing a growing national trend of holding dubious officers accountable rather than shielding them.

The message is clear, when the law begins to police its own, criminals hiding behind the uniform have fewer places to hide. As the saying goes, “when the broom sweeps from inside the house, the compound becomes cleaner.”

Equally noteworthy was the police warning to Point-of-Sale operators allegedly aiding extortion. Organized crime rarely succeeds without financial facilitators, and targeting those support systems could significantly weaken criminal enterprises.

As the old saying goes, “when the fence begins to eat the crops, the farmer must rebuild the fence.”

The action taken against erring officers reflects an attempt by the Nigeria Police Force to restore public confidence through internal accountability rather than institutional protection.

The anti-extortion campaign also extended beyond law enforcement. The Edo State Taskforce arrested two suspected illegal revenue collectors at Uwelu Spare Parts Market in Egor Local Government Area following complaints from traders and customers.

Station Officer Johnbull Rufus said the suspects allegedly ignored the Edo State Government’s ban on unauthorized ticketing and illegal revenue collection by extorting traders under the guise of official levies.

The suspects, Tony Amayo and Thompson Okun, claimed they were acting on the instructions of Kingsley Ikhimwin, who allegedly assured them the exercise had local government approval. Investigators are expected to determine the veracity of those claims.

Though less dramatic than kidnapping cases, illegal revenue collection undermines economic security, discourages investment and erodes confidence in government institutions. Markets flourish where lawful commerce replaces intimidation.

Taken together, the police operation and the taskforce crackdown reveal an important trend. Edo’s security agencies are targeting criminal ecosystems, not merely individual offenders.

Every network depends on collaborators, financiers, transporters or facilitators whose removal weakens the entire structure.

This latest offensive builds on recent initiatives, including the deployment of 497 Forest Guards, intensified anti-cult operations, the proposed mandatory CCTV policy, major NDLEA drug seizures and stricter regulation of scrap metal activities across the state.

A common denominator in nearly all the successes recorded this week is intelligence supplied by members of the public. Victims’ complaints exposed the police extortion syndicate, while traders’ reports triggered the taskforce operation at Uwelu Market.

This tends to highlight an enduring security principle, “the community remains the first line of defence.” No security agency, regardless of manpower or equipment, can effectively combat organised crime without timely and credible information from residents.

Nevertheless, dismantling criminal networks requires more than arrests. Successful prosecution, transparent investigations and sustained intelligence gathering will ultimately determine whether these operations produce lasting results or temporary headlines.

For the Nigeria Police Force, prosecuting officers accused of betraying their oath would sends a powerful message that no uniform confers immunity from the law.

Institutional integrity is strengthened when discipline is visible and impartial.

Also, eliminating illegal revenue collectors from public spaces would improve the business environment and reinforce Governor Monday Okpebholo’s commitment to protecting legitimate economic activities from exploitation.

The week’s events collectively indicate that Edo’s security strategy is becoming broader, deeper and more intelligence-driven. Rather than merely responding after crimes occur, authorities are identifying and dismantling the networks that finance, facilitate and sustain criminality.

By and large, one unavoidable conclusion – the walls appear to be gradually closing in on organized crime in Edo State. If this momentum is sustained through diligent prosecution, institutional reforms and continued public cooperation, criminals may soon discover that, in Edo, the safest place to stand is on the right side of the law.