The Benin High Court has ordered the remand of 52 persons, including students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre over allegations of malicious damage and armed robbery arising from a protest that turned violent in Edo State.

The defendants, many of them undergraduates, were brought before Justice William Aziegbemi in Benin following an ex parte motion filed by police prosecutor P. O. Odion. They face multiple counts linked to the unrest that erupted after a demonstration over insecurity in Ekpoma was allegedly hijacked by hoodlums.

Justice Aziegbemi, after listening to the parties, ruled that the High Court in Benin lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the substantive matter. He consequently ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Ubiaja Correctional Centre and directed their lawyers to approach the High Court in Ubiaja with formal bail applications.

The judge further adjourned the case to a later date for hearing, effectively keeping the students and other defendants in custody pending the consideration of their bail and the proper assumption of jurisdiction by the appropriate court.

The ruling triggered an emotional scene outside the courtroom. As prison officials moved the defendants into a waiting Black Maria van, relatives and friends broke down in tears, some wailing openly and others pleading with security operatives for a chance to speak with their loved ones.

Among those in distress was a man who identified himself simply as Abdulsalam. He said two of his sons, both students, were among those remanded, insisting they were innocent and had not taken part in the protest or any subsequent violence.

“My children didn’t participate in the protest,” he said, visibly shaken. “They were at home when all this happened. I don’t understand why they were arrested.”

Several defence lawyers representing the suspects sharply criticised the charges, describing them as excessive and unsupported by evidence. They argued that the allegations of armed robbery and malicious damage were not backed by specific complaints from victims.

One of the defence counsel, Wisdom Isaac, maintained that no formal complainant had come forward to link the defendants to any act of robbery or destruction of property. He questioned the basis on which such serious offences were being pressed.

Another lawyer, Ejemi Etinbowei, contended that the students were being unfairly targeted. According to him, the original protest was not organised by the students but by relatives and sympathisers of a kidnap victim whose body was discovered in the bush days earlier.

Etinbowei argued that the demonstration began as a peaceful expression of anger and frustration over rising insecurity in the area, only for it to be infiltrated by criminal elements who used the opportunity to unleash violence.

Many of the students also insisted on their innocence, claiming they were arrested in a sweeping operation that did not distinguish between protesters, bystanders and those who were simply in their hostels.

One student, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, recounted how he and others were picked up in the early hours of the morning.

“Most of us were arrested at about 3am when we were sleeping,” he said. “They came to our hostels, banged on the doors and ordered us out. I was not involved in the protest or any looting. Before we knew it, we were in a Black Maria on our way to Benin.”

According to multiple sources, the miscreants turned on traders, attacking shops and looting goods. Tyres were set ablaze on major roads, blocking vehicular movement and creating panic among residents. Videos of the chaos, showing burning barricades and fleeing traders, quickly went viral on social media, drawing wider attention to the incident.

In a development that further inflamed tensions, the palace of the Onojie of Ekpoma, Zaiki Anthony Abumere II, was attacked and vandalised. The assault on the traditional ruler’s palace was widely condemned across the state and beyond, with many describing it as a desecration of a revered institution.

Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo publicly denounced the attack on the palace and the destruction that followed the protest. He called for calm and urged security agencies to fish out those responsible for the violence, while also promising that the state would not tolerate lawlessness under the guise of protest.