The Edo State Government has demolished two properties tied to organ harvesting and cult activities in Esan Central Senatorial District, while arresting those behind the crimes.
The operation, carried out by the Edo State Special Security Squad (Operation Flush Out Kidnapping and Cultists) alongside the Edo State Security Corps, the Nigeria Police Force and other agencies, was supervised by the Principal Security Officer to the governor. It covered Uromi in Esan North East and Ewatto in Esan South East.
In Uromi, a bungalow and boys’ quarters at Uwalor-Oke belonging to 40-year-old Ebhata Eromosele were pulled down. The property was allegedly used to harvest organs from three young women. One victim, who was pregnant, died; a second was treated and discharged; the third is still receiving care at an undisclosed hospital.
A second building at Idi-Negbon, Eguare Ewatto, said to have hosted cult activities, was also bulldozed as a warning to others.
Briefing journalists, squad coordinator Amiolemen Idemudia said the suspects were traced after a dumped body was linked to the Uromi residence. A search of the home reportedly turned up a bloodstained bedspread and other evidence pointing to ritual activity and organ harvesting.
He said Governor Monday Okpebholo has vowed that his administration will not tolerate such crimes and will make Edo inhospitable to criminal elements. “The government will not rest until the state is safe for all,” he said.
On the Ewatto case, Idemudia said a cult clash had disrupted the community, and one Bright Ejetuwamen was accused of using his properties to host cult activities. The building was demolished and the suspect arrested.
SP Johnson Oyameda (rtd), Zonal Commander of the Edo State Security Corps, credited the breakthrough to more than a month of surveillance. He said two mutilated bodies were recovered in the area within a short period, prompting intensified monitoring that eventually led operatives to trail Eromosele to the demolished apartment.
He added that the suspect is believed to have carried out three ritual attacks — one fatal, one requiring hospitalization and one treated and discharged.
Both suspects are in the custody of the Edo State Police Command for investigation and prosecution
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