The Oghara Study Group (OSG) has carefully reviewed the Delta State Police Command Press Release dated 7 July 2026, titled:
“Delta State Commissioner of Police Undertakes Strategic Security Visit to Oghara, Pays Courtesy Visit to the Ovie of Oghara Kingdom, Holds Stakeholders’ Security Meeting.”
The Oghara Study Group welcomes the visit of the Commissioner of Police, CP Yemi Oyeniyi, to Oghara Kingdom and his engagement with His Royal Majesty, Noble Oyibo Eshemitan, JP, FCA, Orefe III, the Ovie of Oghara Kingdom, as well as the strategic security meeting with stakeholders in Ethiope West Local Government Area.
We commend every genuine effort aimed at restoring peace and security to our Kingdom and appreciate the Commissioner’s recognition that effective policing requires collaboration with traditional institutions, local government authorities, community leaders and citizens.
However, it is important to place the Commissioner’s visit within its proper context.
On 2 July 2026, the Oghara Study Group issued a comprehensive Global Press Briefing on Banditry-Induced Violence and Killings in Oghara Kingdom, documenting the escalating pattern of kidnappings, killings, ransom payments, armed banditry and organized criminal activities affecting Oghara Kingdom. The briefing also presented concrete recommendations to the Federal Government, the Delta State Government, Ethiope West Local Government Council and security agencies on practical measures required to restore peace and security.
Following that briefing, OSG convened an Online World Press Conference, which received extensive coverage across print, broadcast and online media platforms within Nigeria and internationally. The overwhelming public response reflected growing concern over the deteriorating security situation in Oghara Kingdom and reinforced calls for urgent government intervention.
It was against this background that the Commissioner of Police undertook his strategic visit to Oghara.
OSG welcomes this development and hopes it marks the beginning of sustained operational action and not merely a symbolic response to growing public concern.
OSG Rejects the “Isolated Cases” Narrative
While we appreciate the Commissioner’s engagement with the community, we express our profound concern over the Delta State Police Command’s characterization of the security situation in Oghara as involving only “some isolated cases of kidnapping and cultism.”
This assertion does not reflect the lived experiences of the people of Oghara.
Neither does it reflect the documented evidence compiled by the Oghara Study Group.
Our Global Press Briefing documented a recurring pattern of kidnappings, killings, ransom payments, armed attacks on farmers, cult-related violence, attacks affecting educational institutions, and persistent criminal activities along the Oghara–Sapele, Otefe–Ovade and Warri–Sapele corridors. These incidents span several months and have created a climate of fear that has profoundly disrupted economic activity, education, agriculture and everyday life in our communities.
Families have buried loved ones.
Victims have paid millions of naira in ransom.
Some victims have been killed even after ransom payments.
Farmers have abandoned their farms.
Businesses have reduced operations.
Residents now avoid travelling after dark.
These are not isolated incidents.
They constitute an organized and persistent security crisis that deserves honest acknowledgement and decisive action.
Official statements that minimize the magnitude of this crisis risk undermining public confidence and diminishing the pain experienced by victims and their families.
A Police Visit Alone Cannot Resolve This Crisis
The Oghara Study Group believes that while the Commissioner’s visit is welcome, it cannot by itself resolve the deep-rooted insecurity confronting Oghara Kingdom.
The kidnapping crisis affecting Oghara has evolved beyond a conventional policing challenge.
It has become a sophisticated criminal enterprise operating across the Benin–Ologbo–Oghara–Sapele–Warri corridor, exploiting jurisdictional boundaries between Edo and Delta States to perpetrate kidnappings, extortion, killings and other violent crimes.
These criminal syndicates move across state boundaries with relative ease, making it unrealistic to expect that isolated actions by the Delta State Police Command alone can dismantle the kidnapping and ransom economy that has emerged within this strategic corridor.
The current approach, while important, is insufficient given the scale, sophistication and interstate nature of these criminal operations.
OSG Calls for a Coordinated Inter-Agency Security Response
OSG therefore calls upon the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, to immediately champion a comprehensive inter-agency security strategy involving:
- The Nigeria Police Force;
- The Nigerian Army;
- The Department of State Services (DSS);
- The Office of the National Security Adviser, where appropriate;
- The Governments of Delta and Edo States;
- Local Government Authorities;
- Traditional institutions;
- Community vigilante structures operating within the law; and
- Credible civil society organisations and community leaders.
Only through integrated intelligence gathering, joint operations, coordinated investigations, synchronized patrols, effective prosecution of criminal syndicates and sustained community participation can the kidnapping and ransom economy operating along the Benin–Ologbo–Oghara–Sapele–Warri axis be dismantled.
The security of Oghara cannot be separated from the security of neighbouring communities in both Delta and Edo States.
Criminal networks do not recognise administrative boundaries.
Government responses must therefore be equally coordinated across jurisdictions.
Our Specific Demands
The Oghara Study Group respectfully calls upon the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, to:
- Publicly acknowledge the seriousness of the organized kidnapping crisis confronting Oghara Kingdom.
- Establish a Joint Inter-Agency Security Task Force comprising the Police, Army, DSS and other relevant agencies to tackle kidnapping syndicates operating across the Benin–Ologbo–Oghara–Sapele–Warri corridor.
- Work jointly with the Governments of Delta and Edo States to develop a coordinated regional security strategy for addressing cross-border kidnapping and organized crime.
- Deploy additional tactical personnel, intelligence assets and surveillance resources to identified crime hotspots in and around Oghara Kingdom.
- Strengthen collaboration with traditional institutions, lawful community vigilante groups and civil society organisations through structured intelligence-sharing and community policing mechanisms.
- Investigate all unresolved kidnapping and murder cases documented by OSG and other community stakeholders and provide regular public updates on progress.
- Institutionalize quarterly security accountability meetings involving the Palace, security agencies, local government authorities, community representatives and civil society organisations to review measurable progress.
OSG’s Continuing Commitment
The Oghara Study Group wishes to make it clear that our Global Press Briefing and Online World Press Conference were not one-off advocacy events.
They marked the beginning of a sustained civic accountability initiative to ensure that the security and welfare of the people of Oghara remain a priority for governments and security agencies until measurable improvements are achieved.
OSG will continue to document incidents, engage constructively with security agencies, monitor official responses, publish periodic security updates, and assess progress against commitments made by the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant authorities.
We will acknowledge genuine progress wherever it occurs.
Equally, we will continue to speak out whenever official narratives fail to reflect the realities experienced by our communities.
Our objective is neither confrontation nor political point-scoring.
Our sole interest is the protection of lives, the restoration of peace, the strengthening of public confidence in state institutions, and the prosperity of Oghara Kingdom.
The people of Oghara deserve more than reassuring statements.
They deserve measurable security outcomes.
They deserve communities where farmers can cultivate their lands without fear, students can pursue their education safely, businesses can flourish, and families can travel freely without the constant threat of abduction.
That is the standard by which the people of Oghara will judge the success of this visit and every future intervention.
The Oghara Study Group stands ready to work with the Nigeria Police Force, the Armed Forces, the Department of State Services, the Governments of Delta and Edo States, the Palace, community leaders and all other stakeholders committed to restoring lasting peace and security in Oghara Kingdom.
Link to our Press Statement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HajVL7WPaLfPDxvRdTPhMoNRFuHBbw0Y/view?usp=sharing
Link to our Global Press Briefing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DMOQ354hE_97uYyJloJjDfX6wQNcSdCn/view?usp=sharing
Link to the Delta State Police Command Press Release: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DHedQWEfUOQohwcmRGk_8ResQPKsbm7V/view?usp=sharing
Signed
Rev. David Ugolor
Convener, Oghara Study Group (OSG)
Prof. Ogheneruonah Eghweree
Convener, Oghara Study Group (OSG)
Oghara Study Group (OSG)
Oghara Kingdom, Ethiope West Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria
Media Contact:
OSG Secretariat
Telephone: +234 703 7173563
Email: ogharastudygroup@gmail.com