Edo Special Security Squad assaults, brutalizes journalist in Benin

The newly formed Edo Special Security Squad meant to flush out cultists, robbers and all forms of criminalities in the state has started on sour note.

This as a journalist working with a private broadcasting station in Edo State simply identified as Hassan Olasunnkanmi Quadri was reportedly assaulted, beaten and brutalized by operatives of the Special Security Squad codenamed,”Operation Flush out kidnappers and cultists in the State.

The Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo had last Sunday announced the establishment of the Special Security Squad geared towards flushing out kidnappers and cultists in the State.

The squad which commenced operations on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, however, started in a controversial note as the journalist popularly known as “Otunba Ororo”, was reportedly beaten by members of the squad.

It was gathered that the incident happened when members of the squad stormed and raided an undisclosed hotel where the victim lodged in Benin City.

In a viral video posted on his Facebook page, Hassan Olasunnkanmi Quadri narrated how the team invaded his hotel room and assaulted him.

The victim who spoke in pigin English said, “as you all know, I not dey find trouble, I not dey find wahala. I do my work diligently. I not dey even put hand for anything bad.

“But seriously even if everything get as it be, that does not mean that every youth in Edo state are criminals. It doesn’t mean that everybody in Edo state is a criminal.

“At least you give them the leverage to introduce themselves and ask questions but instead you put tyrants on the road

“Edo state government, I am calling you out to go and do checking. Stop youths on the road, Edo State is not safe anymore for now.

“I will call them tyrants even though you are a uniform man. You burst into my room and I asked a simple question who are you? Who are you looking for?

“Normally, you should introduce yourself and you said you want to search and I told you to search. The next thing you are ordering me out that I should enter your bus. To where? Do I know who you are and where you are going to?

“Edo State is pretty hot right now. I should just follow you? No ID card. Anybody can wear a Police uniform.

“You came into my room and before I knew it one just slapped me. And before I could raise my head the other one teargassed my eyes.
“In a civilised county we are. Edo State what is happening?

“You teargassed my eyes and also before I knew it they tore my clothes. Some of them were even going for my gold necklace. Is that why you are here? I was very vigilant to protect my property. They dragged me to Oluku junction.

“But if not the intervention of Mr Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo it would have been worse.

“The CPS was even telling them to leave me alone, that this is so so and so so person they did not hear. It took the CPS a lot of intervention before they could leave me.

“If not for the CPS I would have been in detention or in prison today for what I don’t know. They are just gathering people. Is that the problem?. There are a lot of people that are killing our brothers, fathers and everybody in the farms and nobody is doing anything about it.

“If you must fight anything cultism is that the right way to go about it? You are arresting youths that are not doing anything on the roads. People that are going about their daily business.

“Don’t you know where the real ones are? You people should check yourself if you are not even among the cultists.They stole my properties. What nonsense is all these?

“If not for the CPS today, I would have been behind the bar in the police station or inside prison, and they would tag, “Cultism raid in Edo state”. That is how they would have tagged and charges preferred against me.

“Edo state, we can do better than this. This is not the way forward.

“They beat me and dragged me on the ground like a thief. They wounded me on the forehead. Wound I never get in my life”, he narrated.

Confirming the incident, in a phone in a programme in another private broadcasting station in Benin City, Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to the State Government said he was with the squad when the incident happened.

Itua described the action of some of the members of the squad as unfortunate.

He said he decided to follow the team on its operation because he had the fears that some of the members would not behave accordingly.

According to him, as expected some did not behave well and that was one of the reasons I decided to go with them for the operation. I would have decided to send some staff to go with them, but I decided to go myself being the first day of the operation, in case there is going to be some issues, I can easily step in.

“In the case of our colleague, when they got to the hotel he was one of those that they brought out. Immediately, I saw him from a distance and I quickly ran to meet them.

“I went almost physical with members of the squad telling them they cannot arrest him because I know him as a journalist. When they dragged him into the bus, I went to remove him from it.

“That is how he came out of the bus and I apologised to him, that it is a mistake of identity. I felt bad because they really assaulted and manhandled him”, he said.

The development elicited reactions from members of the public who described the action of the squad as unprofessional.

Others noted that several innocent persons are today languish in prison because of the alleged unprofessional conduct of some security personnel.

They opined if not that the victim is a well known person in the state coupled with the intervention of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor he would have been arrested and charged to court as a cultist or kidnapper.

A resident name withheld narrated how during the last semester examination of the University of Benin, UNIBEN, some students of Ekehuan campus were arrested by security operatives.

He alleged that the students were tagged cultists and murderers.

“They went to College Road at Ekehuan to bust the hostel where our children (the students are staying).

“In the night they arrested them and tagged them cultists, criminals and murderers. Took their phones and switched them off. They couldn’t reach their parents and friends.

“And examinations were going on. Some students went to check on them to know why they were not present for the examinations , only for them to find out that they were arrested and taken away by the police.

“Those that their parents are living in Benin City went to bail their children, but those that their parents are far away couldn’t get help and didn’t write the examinations”, he alleged.