Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has commissioned and donated over 300 motorbikes to various security agencies across the state's three senatorial districts, fulfilling a key campaign promise to restore peace and safety.
The distribution ceremony, held on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at the Government House in Benin City, was attended by top security officials, including Edo State Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika; Commander of the 4th Brigade Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. Ebenezer Oduyebo; and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gani Audu.
The motorbikes, specifically designed for navigating hard-to-reach terrains like forests where criminals often hide, are expected to enhance rapid response and tactical operations in combating kidnapping, cultism, and other violent crimes plaguing the region.
Governor Okpebholo, speaking during the event, reiterated his administration's zero-tolerance policy towards criminality, declaring, “We promised our people during the campaign that we would fight insecurity and restore peace to every part of Edo. Today, we are fulfilling that promise.
"These bikes will be deployed across the senatorial districts and will help security agencies reach areas where vehicles cannot go. Let me be clear, criminals must leave Edo State. With this development, criminal elements would have no hiding place in Edo under my administration.”
This initiative builds on Okpebholo's ongoing efforts since assuming office in November 2024, including the launch of “Operation Flush Out Kidnappers and Cultists” in July 2025, which established a special security squad to target kidnappers and cultists in hotspots like Benin City, Ekpoma, and Auchi.
Earlier actions also involved procuring 1,000 motorcycles and Hilux vehicles for security forces, training over 1,470 Edo State Security Corps agents, and recovering more than 5,000 illegal arms.
These measures have reportedly led to a decline in criminal activities, with community leaders and even factions of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) praising the improvements in public safety.
In a related development at the same ceremony, Governor Okpebholo commissioned heavy-duty equipment, including bulldozers, low-bed trucks, and tractors, for the Edo State Waste Management Board.
He criticized the previous administration's practice of spending over N50 million monthly on rented equipment, stating, “That is not sustainable. These machines were not rented; they were purchased with Edo people’s money for Edo people’s use.”
The Managing Director of the board, Lucky Enehita-Inegbeneh, described the intervention as a “game changer” for effective waste management and a cleaner environment.
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I commend the Governor for buy motorcycles for security agencies to access places where motorists can not drive to. But, I would have preferred if the Governor had acquired combat helicopters with integrated infra-red zoom cameras and sophisticated weapons to decimate terrorists and their area of habitat. It is easier to monitor these terrorists and kidnappers in our forests and thick bushes as they march their captives toward hills and mountains. Only combat helicopters can do the job in disarming them and rescuing their victims safely. Motorcycle can not survive this kind of aerial monitoring and searching process in the forest. It is undeniably difficult to fight against terrorism because the monetary aspect of it is extremely expensive but the results will be convincing. However, if we want to fight against terrorism, we must be ruthless in our approach, and it implies using combat helicopters and in one or two weeks, there wouldn’t be a trace of terror groups in our villages
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