Edo State Governor Commiserates with Kano over Uromi Tragedy, Pledges Justice for Victims

The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Monday Okpebholo, has visited the Kano State Government to sympathize with the government of Kano State and the relatives of the 16 innocent lives brutally taken at Uromi, Edo State, last week.

The March 28, 2025, attack has evoked national outcry and generated a string of responses between the two states to instill justice in the victims.

The 16 victims were mainly Hausa hunters who had set out on the trip from Port Harcourt to Kano to celebrate the Sallah. They were murdered by a mob at the Udune Efandion community of Uromi, where they had been wrongly accused of kidnapping. The act has been decried both by national and local authorities.

Governor Okpebholo who said he was greatly saddened by the act, referred to it as a barbaric and unacceptable act. He provided the families of the deceased and the people of Kano with assurance that President Bola Tinubu had instructed the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies to make an accelerated arrest of the perpetrators and ensure that they are subjected to the full power of the law. Following the attack, the authorities arrested 14 suspects for the killings.

In sympathy, Governor Okpebholo also called for speedy justice, seeing the pain and suffering the families were enduring. “This act is absolutely unacceptable, and we are going to bring the culprits to book,” Okpebholo declared during his visit at the Kano State Government House.

Kano Governor Abba Yusuf warmly received Okpebholo and praised the swiftness of the reaction of the government of Edo State to the incident. Yusuf pledged his determination to work closely with Edo officials in prosecuting the culprits. He also asked for public parading of the arrested persons, as he believes that it will bring some form of consolation to the bereaved families. Governor Yusuf also called on the authorities to provide compensation to the bereaved families at a reasonable level for their irreparable loss.

Following the incident, the Kano State Government has established a high-powered delegation to visit Edo State. The delegation’s sole purpose will be to meet with Edo State authorities to agree on how efforts are to be coordinated in getting to the culprits and bringing them to justice. Secondly, the delegation will sit with the leadership of the Hausa community in Edo State and address the tragedy with them so that they may agree on what solutions can be brought to curtail such incidences in the future.

This tragic incident has not only united the states of Kano and Edo in grief but has also demonstrated their collective will to pursue justice for the departed. Both governments are bent on ensuring that the perpetrators of this heinous act are brought to justice, and the families of the victims get compensation for the irreplaceable loss.

As the inquiry remains ongoing, the two states have high hopes of the culprits being taken to justice and thus offering a degree of closure to the bereaved families by this heinous crime.