Uzanu: An idyllic Edo clan violated by its “King”, By Mathew Etokhana

There is palpable disquiet, coupled with uncertainty in the agrarian and once idyllic community of Uzanu, the traditional heartland of the Southeast Uneme clan in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. This follows the purported dethronement of Benjamin Ikani by the kingmakers, council of chiefs, and inhabitants of the village, on grounds of alleged acts ranging from highhandedness, violent and sacrilegious conduct to financial indiscretion and other misconducts.

It is disturbing that Uzanu, a village that once blossomed under the populist and development-oriented administration of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the visionary influence of Prince Clem Agba, a former two-time commissioner and immediate-past Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, is today steeped in trauma. The village had become a cynosure of eyes, transformed through a string of federal projects facilitated by Prince Agba. The creation of the Southeast clan of Uzanu, which elevated Benjamin Ikani to the revered position of Oliola, was itself a miracle of the Oshiomhole era and a masterstroke by Prince Agba.

That same Benjamin Ikani, now said to be metaphorically sitting on bare ground rather than the once-exalted throne of the Oliola of Uzanu, appears undeterred by the people’s persistent rejection of his leadership. In a telephone conversation with this medium, he boldly claimed to remain king, dismissing the various odds stacked against him. He waved off his purported removal as mere child’s play and labelled those behind it as insignificant players in the traditional governance of Uzanu and its neighbouring villages.

Yet his stance raised more questions than it answered. When asked why these “insignificant” figures were invited for reconciliation talks by Honourable Lucky Eseigbe, the Edo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, he had no convincing response. Indeed, Benjamin Ikani himself acknowledged that the reconciliation efforts, initiated by Commissioner Eseigbe, had failed, as also confirmed by the village chiefs and kingmakers at a press briefing. Why then did he attempt reconciliation with people he deemed irrelevant?

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Insiders within the Edo State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly those close to a top party executive from Edo North Senatorial District, confided in this reporter that one associate, known as “Sunday,” had frequently boasted about using his ties with Governor Okpebholo to reinstate Ikani. His motivation? Political vendetta against a prominent APC stalwart from Uzanu.

“We thank God that Governor Okpebholo is a man of sound judgement who cannot be swayed,” remarked a source. “If Sunny could not stop the recent dethronement of his own king in the nearby Wanno kingdom of Agenebode, his hometown, how then can he influence the governor to reinstall an unpopular figure in Uzanu?”

In The Guardian newspaper of May 19, 2025, an “Open Letter to the Government of Edo State” reiterated that the removal of Benjamin Ikani had the overwhelming backing of the Uzanu council of chiefs, the Oliola-in-Council, and the majority of villagers. The publication detailed the litany of accusations against Ikani, which were also formally communicated on 21 September 2024 to His Royal Highness, the Oliola of Anegbette and Clan Head of South Uneme. This royal figure was tasked by former Governor Obaseki to oversee Uzanu’s affairs after the state controversially revoked the clan’s status.

Obaseki’s reaffirmation and presentation of a staff of office to Ikani on 11 October 2024 only exacerbated the situation. That move bypassed the communal decision to remove him and was viewed as a subversion of traditional norms. Critics argue that Ikani was an imposition by Obaseki, a political gambit to destabilise Uzanu’s APC support base in favour of the opposition PDP.

Community voices insist that the motives behind Ikani’s removal were never political. His installation on 6 November 2015 was greeted with resistance from a section of the village, who doubted his integrity and suitability. Long before the recent uproar, he had drawn the ire of elders, farmers, and fishermen.

As early as 2016, tensions had flared after oil spills from ruptured pipelines in distant Iddo, Okpella, affected Uzanu’s farmlands and waterways. NNPC officials reportedly confirmed that compensation terms were reached with Ikani, who then discouraged villagers from pursuing claims, even as their livelihoods lay in ruins.

Signatories to a document outlining the basis for Ikani’s dethronement include Chief Emmanuel Ikeme (Onotu of Uzanu), Chief Ibrahim Omokpua (Ogiega of Uzanu), Chief Peter Ajegba (Anogie of Uzanu), Chief Kasimu Kadiri (Osese of Uzanu), Chief Abubakar Sule (Ozemoya of Uzanu), Chief Jimoh Shaibu (Ogiewokha of Uzanu), Chief Damodu Baja (Ezeomo of Uzanu) and four others.

The allegations against Ikani are many and grave. According to a damning community document, he once ordered his aide, Anthony Ademu, and local vigilantes to force a woman, Achilemu Esther, to eat her own faeces. In 2021, he allegedly tied three elders to stakes overnight, flogged them, and revived them, accusing them of witchcraft in what smacked of barbaric trial-by-ordeal. The state police commissioner charged the case to the Auchi Magistrate Court.

Ikani reportedly brandished the sacred ‘Eben’ (scimitar) in Uzanu Divisional Police Station to curse Joseph Momoh, a community youth leader. Further allegations include invoking deadly night curses via “Inhimhiasu” masquerades and threatening chiefs with a double-barrel gun. His relationship with the Uzanu Divisional Police Office has also come under scrutiny, particularly regarding his alleged protection of vigilantes like Ikpeme Okojie, implicated in attacks and illegal possession of firearms. A petition dated 23 May 2025, by lawyer Emoshioke Kanoba, urged the Inspector-General of Police to transfer the case to Benin for impartial investigation.

Ikani’s volatility is well known. In 2015, he reportedly attempted to slit his brother Agbona Ikani’s throat with a knife. Agbona still bears the scar. He allegedly attacked Chief Kasimu Kadiri on his farmland and later took Kadiri’s wife as his own. Accusations of greed and extortion abound, including the unauthorised withdrawal of ₦2.2 million from community funds. He is also accused of selling off Uzanu farmlands and fishponds to Igbira neighbours in Kogi State and doling out chieftaincy titles despite a government ban on his reign.

Perhaps most alarming is his alleged covert deal with herders, to whom he sold land for fees ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦1,000,000, plus cows. This has reportedly worsened kidnappings, crop destruction, and insecurity in Edo North. His disregard for the community’s stand against land cession and growing crime is said to be total.

Sani Ikani, Benjamin’s younger brother, has also been in the spotlight. He and a gang allegedly tried to lynch a television journalist during a peaceful rally, attempting to silence government efforts to root out cultism. Was this reaction a defence of cult activity, or are they indeed the ones the villagers are protesting against?

The Guardian report concluded that Ikani had boycotted a key community meeting held on 21 September 2024, where he was expected to answer to the numerous allegations. He denied receiving any invitation. Asked why he hadn’t convened his own meeting to respond, he merely shrugged off the accusations as baseless.

A video of what was supposed to be a confidential reconciliation meeting leaked via Hon Eseigbe’s office, spread widely on social media, triggering wild celebrations by Ikani’s supporters. They allegedly sang derisive songs targeting APC loyalists, claiming victory for PDP sympathisers who had disgraced APC supporters in their own stronghold of Benin City.

One chief who attended the meeting described it as hurried and superficial. “We were barely asked to speak. We were simply told to return home and forgive Benjamin Ikani if he sought pardon. But that kind of shallow peace effort cannot resolve the two court cases still hanging over him at the Auchi Magistrate Court,” the chief lamented.

Meanwhile, Ikani denies that he is planning a controversial turbaning of new chiefs in Uzanu and Wanno clans on June 6, 2025. But the mere rumour has further heightened tensions. Community leaders, in a press conference, have reiterated their position: “Benjamin Ikani is no longer their king.”

So, what is the way out of this festering kingship imbroglio?

Well-placed sources within the Edo State Government House, the Office of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, security agencies, and APC leadership in Benin have suggested that Governor Okpebholo should take decisive action. They recommend that he adopt the same deft approach that successfully resolved the Okuokpellagbe dispute in Okpella. They argue that the root of Uzanu’s crisis lies in the unilateral imposition of a monarch by former Governor Obaseki, a mistake also made in Okpella.

To restore peace and dignity to Uzanu, they propose that the position of Oliola be thrown open in a fair and transparent contest. Let all qualified persons, including Benjamin Ikani if he so wishes, vie for the throne through a legitimate, community-driven process.

Only then can Uzanu return to the path of harmony, justice, and progress.

■ Mathew Etokhana is a freelance writer.