By joshua IYAMIDR Urges Okpebholo To Institutionalize Security Heroes’ Welfare
By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin city
The Initiative For Youth Awareness on Migration Immigration Development and Reintegration, IYAMIDR Nigeria, has called on Governor Monday Okpebholo to establish a statutory welfare covenant for security personnel serving in Edo State, warning that “law without welfare will not hold a weary officer on the frontline.”
In a statement issued Tuesday, 2nd July 2026, and signed by its Executive Director, Solomon Okoduwa, the group titled its intervention “FROM CONDOLENCE TO CONTINUITY: EDO MUST SECURE THOSE WHO SECURE US.”
Okoduwa however commended the Okpebholo administration for what he described as “audacity” on security since assumption of office, specifically citing the anti-crime law now in force and the activation on Wednesday, 1st July 2026, of a dedicated Criminal Court One at the Federal High Court in Benin, approved by the Chief Judge of Edo State to try kidnapping, cultism, and illegal arms cases within 3 weeks.
“That is leadership with teeth,” the statement read, adding however that “condolence visits to families of our fallen heroes are sacred… Yet at this hour, condolence alone cannot keep a widow from despair, or a child from dropping out of school.”
“We saw proof of that resolve on Wednesday, 1st July 2026, with the activation of a dedicated Criminal Court One at the Federal High Court, approved by the Chief Judge of Edo State to try kidnapping, cultism, and illegal arms cases within 3 weeks. That is leadership with teeth,” the statement said.
The group said however that enforcement alone would not sustain frontline morale.
“Your Excellency, law without welfare will not hold a weary officer on the frontline,” Okoduwa said. “Condolence visits to families of our fallen heroes are sacred. We must keep doing them. Yet at this hour, condolence alone cannot keep a widow from despair, or a child from dropping out of school, or a serving officer from fearing abandonment.”
IYAMIDR said it was demanding “a new covenant with every man and woman in uniform across Edo,” with a simple promise: “If you stand for Edo, Edo will stand for your family, whether you return home or not.”
The group laid out three sets of state-level demands to the governor, which include;
Edo Security Heroes Trust Fund – By Law, Not Speech. IYAMIDR asked the governor to immediately send an Executive Bill to the Edo State House of Assembly to ring-fence 2% of the monthly security vote into a statutory fund. It said payment must be mandated within 30 days of any casualty, comprising a ₦10 million death benefit, full scholarship to university for every child, and lifetime healthcare for spouse and dependents. “No file. No delay. No begging,” the group said.
“Housing and Legacy Guarantee. “Every family of a fallen hero must get one rent-to-own bungalow in a secure estate or community, plus automatic employment consideration for one qualified dependent into the Edo State Civil Service. We cannot bury our heroes and evict their children,” Okoduwa said.
The group also called for Edo State Insurance Top-Up: “a state-managed group life scheme that pays faster and higher than the federal process, saying “bureaucracy must never bury our heroes twice.”
IYAMIDR said the governor’s “judicial courage must be matched on the streets and in the bushes.”
“A 3-week trial timeline must mean 3 weeks, not 3 years. Let every kidnapper and cult kingpin know Edo’s courts are faster than their getaway,” the statement said.
“Information must move faster than AK-47s. When a mother in Uromi sees something, she must have somewhere safe to say it and be heard,” Okoduwa said.
“Constitute a Joint Task Force with monthly clearance and drone surveillance of Edo’s porous borders with Ondo, Kogi, and Delta states. “Criminals hide where government presence is absent. Let Edo presence be constant,” the group said.
“We cannot ask for sacrifice and pay with silence,” Okoduwa said.
“Approve an immediate top-up for all security personnel deployed in flashpoint and rural communities, naming Ovia, Etsako, Uhunmwonde, Orhionmwon, Uromi, Oria, Igueben, Onogholo, Amediokhia, Ubiaja, Akoko-Edo, and other communities in Edo North and beyond. “Danger pay must reflect real danger,” the group said.
“Make it a state event with cash, land, and public commendation. “Bring the families to the front row. Let every child see that their father’s sacrifice is our state’s pride.”
“Psychosocial and Restorative Care should be encouraged. Mandatory trauma counseling, medical screening, and rest-and-rotation. A tired, traumatized officer is a vulnerable officer. We will not break the men and women we rely on.”
IYAMIDR also outlined its own commitments to Edo communities, saying “security is not only the work of uniforms. It is the work of all of us.”
The group said it will roll out a “Safe Communities, Safe Futures” campaign with town halls in all 18 LGAs on cultism, illegal migration, and safe reporting; a Youth Reintegration and Skills programme, stating that “for every boy a gang wants to recruit, we will offer a trade, a stipend, and a future. A boy with a skill is a hard target for crime;” and Protected Reporting Channels, supporting USSD and WhatsApp lines linked to the proposed Fusion Centres, with informants protected, not exposed.
In its closing remarks, the group told Governor Okpebholo that “history will not remember how many condolence books were signed. History will remember if Edo mothers slept with both eyes closed.”
“You have shown political will. Now show political heart,” Okoduwa said.
“When a DSS operative in Akoko-Edo, a policeman in Uromi, or an ESSN vigilante in Ovia knows that his wife will not be stranded and his children will still go to school if he falls, he will hold the line longer, fight harder, and die, if he must, without regret. That is how we turn grief into strength. That is how we move from condolence to continuity. Edo will be safe. Edo must be safe. And those who keep us safe must never be forgotten.”
The statement was copied to the Director, DSS Edo State Command, the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, and all security stakeholders and traditional rulers in Edo State.