Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo has named a group identified as “Ambrose Alli Comrade Community” as the alleged mastermind of last Saturday’s anti-kidnappings protest in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area.
DAILY POST reports that Governor Okpebholo made the disclosure on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 during a meeting with the leadership of the Students’ Union Government, SUG, of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.
Okpebholo alleged that intelligence available showed that the incident was orchestrated by the group identifying themselves as the “Ambrose Alli Comrade Community”.
He said the group is made up of individuals who are no longer students but loiter around the school environment for unlawful activities.
He said during the meeting with the SUG President issues surrounding the disturbance, arrests and security concerns were discussed at length.
According to him, “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.
“The recent unrest in Ekpoma was not organised by students of the Ambrose Alli University, AAU. The incident is a criminal act carried out by non-students hiding around the institution to foment trouble and extort law-abiding students”, he alleged.
He, however, assured the SUG leadership of the release of any genuine students who may have been arrested in the course of restoring order.
He said the students would be identified and released without delay.
“For students who were probably arrested, we will look into it and get them released to the SUG President. That is a promise I made, and I will do it as quickly as possible. The protest was not theirs. In fact, it was not a protest at all; it was an avenue to loot,” he said.
The Governor also dismissed the claims linking the protest to kidnapping, describing the claims as false and stage-managed to mislead the public and create ethnic tension.
“The kidnapping they are talking about is fake. It was stage-managed. They were arranging to kidnap and release themselves. They even went as far as killing someone, which is the most painful part”. he added.
While emphasizing that Ambrose Alli University remains closed, he added that his administration has nothing against the students of the institution.
He stated that no students was arrested within the university campus.
The Governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to protecting students, restoring peace in Ekpoma, and ensuring that criminal elements exploiting the university environment are decisively dealt with in accordance with the law.
Responding, the SUG President of the University, Osadebamen Ehizogie Michael, said it was unfortunate that attempts were being made to link the unrest to the student community.
“It is pitiable that some people want to associate what happened with students. We are here to formally debunk that students did not organise any protest. The State Governor Monday Okpebholo, has been in touch with us and has assured us that any students among those arrested will be released”, he added.
On her part, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) of the institution, Prof Andrew Eromonsele, confirmed that no arrests were made within the university campus.
He also distanced the institution from the unrest.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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