The Nigeria Police Force has announced that the Inspector-General of Police has directed the Edo State Commissioner of Police to free students who were legitimately arrested during a recent protest in the state.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this on Tuesday, the 13th of January, 2026, while speaking as a guest on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television.
According to Hundeyin, efforts by the police to rebuild public confidence have yielded some progress. He noted, “There’s a lot of distrust, but at the same time, the level of distrust is not as bad as it used to be because we’ve done a lot in engaging with people.”
He further stated, “The Inspector General of Police has instructed the Commissioner of Police to release ‘genuine students’ arrested during the Edo protest.
“We’ve done a lot of advocacy, and we’ve done a lot to show people how responsible we can be and how we can come to their aid.”
Hundeyin explained that the protest situation in Ekpoma required reinforcement, as the nearest police formations were initially overwhelmed.
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“So, in Ekpoma, it might happen that the closest police unit or formation was not able to handle the situation.
Yes, it does happen, and in such cases, that unit would call for backup, would call for reinforcement, and that was what happened actually to the extent that the commissioner of police in the state actually moved down from Benin City to Ekpoma.”
He added that senior officers were actively involved in managing the situation. “In fact, the Area Commander was on ground, several DPOs were on ground. So that’s the standard practice all over the world that you confront a situation, and the situation seems to be getting out of hand. The next thing is to call for reinforcements, and that’s what we did.”
Despite the challenges, Hundeyin stressed the police’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with communities, adding, “But nonetheless, we intend to work more closely with the people, and we call on the people to work more closely with us to.”