An Edo State High Court has remanded about 52 students and others for allegedly protesting the insecurity and incessant kidnapping in the university town of Ekpoma, in Esan West Local Government.
The students of the state-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU) were among those ordered remanded at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre.
They were arraigned by the Nigerian police command of Edo State on Monday, over their alleged involvement in acts of violence, vandalism and looting.
A defence counsel, Ejemi Etinbowei, insisted that the students neither organised nor led the protest, arguing that it was initiated by family members of a kidnap victim who was later found dead.
The protest, which initially started as a demonstration against the rising incidents of kidnappings and killings in the area, later degenerated into violence, resulting in the looting of shops and the vandalisation of the palace of the Onojie of Ekpoma.
Residents had taken to the streets following repeated cases of abduction within the community, with several victims reportedly kidnapped from their homes, with some later killed even after ransom payment.
Security operatives subsequently moved in and arrested suspects at various locations across Ekpoma.
Some of the arrested AAU students said that they were picked up from their hostels at about 3 a.m. while asleep and had no involvement in the protest.
According to them, they were conveyed in a police “Black Maria” to Benin City, where they were detained pending their arraignment in court.
Tension and anxiety were palpable at the court premises as relatives of the suspects loitered around, seeking information about the whereabouts and condition of their loved ones.
One of the parents, Abdulsalam, whose two sons were among those arraigned, maintained that his children did not participate in the protest.
Emotions ran high as some relatives wept openly while the suspects were led back into a waiting police van after the court session.
The suspects were arraigned through an ex parte motion filed by the police counsel, P. O. Odion.
However, the presiding judge, Justice William Aziegbemi, ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and advised the defence counsel to approach the Ubiaja High Court with bail applications.
Justice Aziegbemi thereafter ordered that the suspects be remanded at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre and adjourned the case to February 26, 2026, for hearing.
Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Eno Ikoedem, said the suspects were arrested for their alleged roles in the violent protest, which led to the destruction of public and private property.
However, lawyers representing some of the defendants faulted the charges, describing them as “bogus.”
Barrister Wisdom Isaac alleged that offences such as malicious damage and armed robbery were wrongly preferred against the suspects, noting that no formal complaints had been lodged against many of them.
