Former Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has condemned the alleged violent assault and abduction of his cousin, Pedro Obaseki, describing the incident as a serious violation of fundamental human rights and a dangerous affront to the rule of law.
Pedro, a journalist and former managing director of DAAR Communications, was reportedly attacked by armed youths who accused him of making remarks considered disrespectful to the Oba of Benin before forcefully taking him to the palace.
Footage circulating on social media showed the visibly brutalised victim, stripped of clothing, being escorted to the palace, where some palace chiefs were seen receiving those who brought him, amid growing public outrage.
The incident occurred on Sunday at the Uwa Primary School field along Igbesamwan Street in Benin City, where eyewitnesses said the victim was assaulted while playing football with members of the Uwa All Stars before being dragged away.
Reacting in a statement on the same day, Obaseki condemned the act and expressed shock over the alleged involvement of the palace, describing the assault and abduction as a serious violation of human rights and a threat to the rule of law.
The former governor urged security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation and called on civil society and human rights groups to speak out against what he described as “this injustice and gross violation of human rights.”
“I strongly condemn the violent attack, maiming, and abduction of my cousin, Dr. Pedro Obaseki, by armed thugs who are said to be acting under instructions of the palace of the Oba of Benin. I am surprised that our monarch would stoop so low and allow his hands to be soiled in such an ignoble act. This is not only embarrassing but deeply troubling. Allowing non-state actors to enforce authority could lead to a degeneration into a state of anarchy, which will do no one any good.”
A Benin-based human rights activist, Kola Edokpayi, also condemned the incident on social media, describing it as a violation of the victim’s rights and stressing that the palace would not endorse actions that breach fundamental freedoms.
