Uromi killings: Esan group demands justice, security overhaul

The Esan Descendants Assembly (EDA) Worldwide, a pan-Esan organization, has condemned last week’s killings of several Nigerians of Northern extraction who were traveling home for the Sallah festival.

The socio-cultural group, while expressing deep sorrow and outrage over the brutal murder of the deceased—suspected to be kidnappers—described the act as a “senseless tragedy” and “an abomination that has brought shame upon the land.”

In a statement endorsed by its Chairman, Professor G.R.A. Okogun, and the General Secretary, Saintmoses Eromosele (SME), the EDA lamented that “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six—but multiple human lives, flesh, spirit, and bone—were reduced to ashes,” emphasizing that the horror remains a stain on the conscience of Esanland.

While distancing the broader Esan community from the heinous act—asserting that it may have been carried out by “non-indigenous residents among us”—the group acknowledged the collective moral burden, stating that “this tragedy weighs on us all, settling like the dry-season dust upon every roof—guilty or innocent.”

Expressing profound remorse, the EDA extended heartfelt apologies to the families of the victims, saying, “Our apology is not out of mere politeness but from the anguish of shared humanity. No man deserves to be judged by fire. No mother should be handed her child’s ashes.”

Beyond condemnation, the Assembly highlighted the worsening security situation in Uromi and its environs, warning that residents now live in perpetual fear amid rampant kidnappings, lawlessness, and government inaction.

“For several planting seasons—especially in recent years—Uromi and neighboring towns have groaned under the weight of unchecked criminality: kidnappers striking day and night, rapists and bandits violating homes and farmlands, killers roaming freely through markets,” the statement asserted.

The EDA decried the “deafening silence” of security agencies and government officials, lamenting delayed interventions and the unfulfilled promise of the Esan Mobile Police Squadron Barracks.

While acknowledging that mob actions often stem from deep-seated frustrations with insecurity, the EDA firmly denounced jungle justice.

The group cautioned, “Justice may have been distant, but revenge is no solution. We must not descend into barbarism. Esanland is not a jungle.”

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Emphasizing Esan’s legacy of dignity and honor, the Assembly cited the region’s revered kings, scholars, warriors, healers, and religious figures who have shaped Nigeria and the world.

The EDA called on Governor Monday Okpebholo, the Commissioner of Police, the Department of State Services, the Nigerian Army’s 4th Mechanized Brigade, and all relevant authorities to take decisive action to secure Edo Central.

“They must not only rise in outrage after blood has been spilled but act with determination to prevent such horrors from occurring,” the statement urged. “They must protect the living with the same urgency with which they now count the dead.”

The statement concluded with a solemn appeal: “Enough blood has been shed. Enough tears have fallen. Let us reject mob justice—never again must we take the law into our own hands. Let us extinguish this fire before it engulfs us all.”