Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo says the recent protest in Ekpoma was not organised by students of Ambrose Alli University (AAU) and ordered the release of the students.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Dr Patrick Ebojele, on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
Okpebholo described the incident as a criminal act carried out by non-students hiding around the institution to foment trouble and extort law-abiding students.
The governor also held a meeting with the President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, where issues surrounding the disturbance, arrests and security concerns were discussed at length.
According to him, intelligence available to the Edo State Government shows that the incident was orchestrated by a group identifying themselves as the “Ambrose Alli Comrade Community”.
He said: “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.”
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Okpebholo further assured the SUG leadership that any genuine students who may have been arrested in the course of restoring order would be identified and released without delay.
Okpebholo said: “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.”
Okpebholo also dismissed claims of kidnapping linked to the incident, describing them as false and stage-managed to mislead the public and create ethnic tension.
Reaffirming the students’ position, the SUG President of AAU, Osadebamen Michael, said it was unfortunate that attempts were being made to link the unrest to the student community.
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