The Edo Government on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of two traditional rulers and five others in connection with the gun men attack on the Igueben train station in Edo Station on January 7.
Gunmen had attacked the the train station and kidnapped 20 people including the station manager, Godwin Okpe, and the ticket clerk, Akhere.
The state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, who made the disclosure said that the two train workers who were still in captivity
The Network gathered that the train station manager, Godwin Okpe, and the ticket Clerk, Akhere were the two members of staff of the NRC that were released on Wednesday.
A combined team of Security operatives, hunters and vigilantes had rescued 12 of 14 remaining victims of the train station attack on Sunday.
Those released at Ugboha and Udo forests are Eunice Eseba, Marian Mowoe, Faith Smart, Precious Egwuje, Obehi Omaben, Amm Benson, Favour Akungo, Akhimen Ehiemamen, Emmanuel Esieba, Iyoha Julius and Aguelle Beatrice.
Although the commissioner did not mention the names of the arrested traditional rulers, he said that they were helping the police with investigation.
Nehikhare said, “The success story in the kidnapping is that five persons and two village chiefs have been arrested in connection with the incident and they are helping with investigations,” he said.
However, the the Executive Director, Esan Youth for Good Governance and Social Justice, Benson Odia, told journalists that the arrested traditional rulers were innocent.
He insisted that their arrest had political undertone as they were against the political ambition of the Governor.
“You see, the government is playing politics. The chiefs were never accused of being a perpetrator or whatever. The arrest of those chiefs and the traditional rulers has political undertone because these days they are now partisan. They are not supporting his political party that is why the governor is trying to use them as scapegoats.”
The Governor had criticized the authorities of the Nigerian Railway Corporation failing to provide adequate security in the train stations after the Kaduna train abductions of March 28, 2022.
He also threatened to sanction traditional rulers in the area who are still giving their lands to herdsmen for grazing last Sunday.
“I must also express our disappointment at the authorities of the Nigerian Railway Corporation because after the Kaduna incident, you would have expected that they will secure their facilities better, so for six men to have come into their facility to kidnap almost 30 people, I think it is something that has to be investigated.
“It doesn’t speak well of their preparedness to run an efficient rail system in this country, and it doesn’t give confidence to Nigerians that they will be safe using that mode of transport.
“You cannot tell me in the facility like the Igueben station, you had only one policeman with one rifle guiding that facility particularly after what had happened in Kaduna! I believe if that agency knows what they are doing, they must investigate what happened and ensure that this sort of a thing does not happen to any other Nigerian anywhere in this country.”
“We are watching and we are still consulting with the Commissioner of Police and the Service Chiefs, we have information that some traditional rulers in that area are not respecting government decision to make sure that grazing opportunities are not given to herders in their forests.
“ I have instructed that those traditional rulers be investigated and anyone who is found to be harbouring people they should not harbour in their domains, will have questions to answer because for communities that have cooperated, we are not seeing this kind of incident.”
