The mob attack in Uromi, Edo State, on March 27-28, 2025, targeted a group of travellers initially misidentified as Fulani kidnappers but later confirmed by government officials to be Hausa hunters.
It dominated social and traditional media up until press time on 1 April. It took many dimensions.
a. Victims and context
• Official accounts now indicate that the victims were Hausa hunters travelling from Port Harcourt to Kano in a Dangote Cement truck to celebrate Eid-l-Fitr with their families.
• Local vigilantes intercepted a truck in Uromi, Edo State, discovering locally made guns and hunting tools. They suspected these belonged to Fulani kidnappers – a group frequently blamed for ransom kidnappings in the region. The vigilantes sparked a mob attack.
Nature of the violence
The mob lynched and burned 16 people (reports vary between seven and 19) victims.
Graphic videos showed victims beaten, doused in petrol, and set ablaze.
Survivors claimed they had licensed guns for hunting, but the mob ignored their pleas because of the history of kidnapping and violence in the area.
Hausa or Fulani?
Reports say the attackers conflated Hausa hunters with Fulani herdsmen. The Fulani have been a scourge in the region and responsible for many attacks. The communities now stereotype them as kidnappers.
Police arrested 14 suspects and deployed forces to prevent reprisals.
Responses
Condemnation of the killings has been the central theme of messaging by President Bola Tinubu, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo and northern governors. They called the killings “barbaric”.
The Northern Elders Forum issued a 14-day ultimatum for justice, demanding compensation, public trials and apologies from Edo State,
Governor Okpebholo met them halfway by visiting Sokoto and some victims’ families.
Many citizens in southern Nigeria were unimpressed. Across social media, they recounted instances of the murder of Southerners in the North without corresponding action or arrests.
Senator Nwebonyi defends his status.
Against massive criticism from groups in the South East and his home region, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi of Ebonyi South continues to make media rounds defending his stance, words, and actions during his recent altercation with former Education Minister Dr. Oby Ezekwesili.
The Deputy Chief Whip told Arise TV, “She was a Minister, and a Senator is bigger than a Minister; she is supposed to respect me.”
Three hundred and fifty gender groups demanded an apology from him. The coalition included ActionAid Nigeria, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, Bring Back Our Girls, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Women Environmental Programme (WEP), Stand to End Rape (STER), Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), and the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC).
They described his language as ‘disrespectful and vulgar”, a deliberate attempt to undermine women’s voices, and unbecoming of a senator.
Read also: Natasha alleges plot against her life, accuses Akpabio and Yahaya Bello
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan versus Godswill Akpabio is still trending.
The Senate’s suspension of its Kogi Central member continues to generate ripples. It threatened to overshadow Eid Mubarak in Okene, Kogi State, with a head-to-head.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan overshadowed the Kogi State government by circumventing its ban on rallies and movements, arriving in style on a helicopter for her welcome.
A large crowd of supporters welcomed her home.
The Kogi State government woke up on Monday, 31 March, to cancel rallies and gatherings. The aim was to prevent a HOMECOMING rally for Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan scheduled for Tuesday, 1 April. The State’s Commissioner of Police issued a stern warning as a consequence of disobedience.
Tony Onyima
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You suspended her. Now, she wants to go home and rest. You won’t let her. You are restless. There is nothing this woman cannot do. Hmm
Suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan ended on 20 March – columnist.
Ikeddy Isiguzo, a widely syndicated columnist on social media, highlighted the duration and end of the Senate‘s suspension of its member Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan based on legal precedents.
“Senator Natasha‘s suspension ended eight days ago on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Whatever has happened since then is evidence of the lawlessness of the Senate and its leadership.
The same Senate Rules book from which Akpabio suspended Natasha states that the maximum number of days a Senator can be suspended from the National Assembly is 14.
While Akpabio cited Natasha’s infractions in the Senate Standing Rules, what provision granted him the power to suspend her for six months? What does’ total violation” of the Standing Rules mean? Was Natasha being punished for violation or total violation?
Precedents date back to 2010 when a Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that the House of Representatives could not suspend members for more than 14 days, involving Dino Melaye and ten other members.
Justice Dimgba Igwe also ruled in April 2018 that the Senate had no power to suspend a member for more than 14 days in the case of Ovie Omo-Agege v. The Senate, which had suspended him for 90 days.
Recently, Senators Ali Ndume and Abdul Ningi were suspended under Akpabio’s leadership, but the courts nullified those suspensions. Ningi alleged that the Appropriation Committee inflated the Bill by over N 3 trillion.
Order 67(4) of the Senate Rules states that a Senator can only be suspended for a period not exceeding 14 days. Since 2010, the courts have drawn the National Assembly‘s attention to this law.
Akpabio and the Senate Ethics Committee disregard Order 67 (4) of the Senate Rules.
Natasha is a devotee of Osun Oshogbo.
An old BBC story about Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan performing cultural rites at the Osun Grove trended last week. The purpose remains unclear. However, influential columnist and Nigerian Tribune editor Dr Lasisi Olagunju suggests that those who promoted it to embarrass the Kogi Central senator may have inadvertently invited the gods into the conflict.
Olagunju stated: “A statesman with loads of wisdom shared the video with me. He wondered why those big men lacked refinement, why they thought they could win the battle and the war at the same time without consequences. I do not know what they boast of in Akwa Ibom or Kogi Central. Whatever it is, they may have to race down to the Grove in Osogbo very soon for atonement. The goddess is angry.”
