‘I Was K!dnapped, Str!pped And Hum!liated, Obaseki Speaks On Assau!t, Palace Ordeal In Benin

 

‘I Was Kidnapped, Stripped And Humiliated, Obaseki Speaks On Assault, Palace Ordeal In Benin

Speaking in an interview with African Independent Television (AIT), Obaseki said the incident occurred around 11:00–11:30 a.m. while he was playing football with members of the Uwa All Stars at Uwa Primary School in Benin City.

Nigerian actor, Dr Don Pedro Obaseki, has recounted his abduction, assault, and public humiliation by a group of assailants who dragged him to the Oba of Benin Palace on Sunday, describing the incident as traumatic and deeply degrading.

Speaking in an interview with African Independent Television (AIT), Obaseki said the incident occurred around 11:00–11:30 a.m. while he was playing football with members of the Uwa All Stars at Uwa Primary School in Benin City.

According to university lecturer and poet, the football ground was suddenly invaded by men he described as assailants, some of whom were armed.

“The place was attacked by assailants and I was physically abducted. In short, basically kidnapped; some of them holding guns, some of them are known thugs,” he said.

Pedro Obaseki, a cousin of former Edo Governor, Godwin Obaseki, explained that the men claimed they had been sent by the palace of the Oba of Benin to seize him, but failed to present any form of identification when he demanded proof.

He alleged that he was beaten, manhandled, and forcefully dragged through several streets in Benin City, including Igbesawan Street, Akpakpava Road, and Ring Road, where he was stripped naked in public before being taken into the palace premises.

He said, “I begged them to show me some form of ID, of course not. I was dragged, beaten severely, manhandled, and dragged through Igbesawan Street up to Akpakpava, which is the main thoroughfare in Benin, and up to Ring Road, where I was stripped naked, and taken into the palace of the Oba of Benin, and where I was meant to kneel in full publicly.”

The actor described the experience as particularly painful given his roots and contributions to Benin culture.

“I’ve never been so humiliated, because I am who I am because of my nativity, my Beninness, I have served my culture,” Obaseki said.

Obaseki disclosed that after the palace incident, he was taken to a police station along Oba Market Road, where the Commissioner of Police intervened.

According to him, the police commissioner visited him multiple times within two hours and subsequently ordered his release.

“The commissioner of police showed his mettle. He came to see me three times before ordering my release,” he said.

He further stated that from his interaction with palace chiefs, it became clear that they did not authorise the actions of those who abducted him.

The actor revealed that he was later informed that his alleged offence stemmed from comments made during a recent visit to London, where he publicly stated “Edo gha to’kperewa”, translated as “May Edo people live long and prosper.”

He said he was accused of failing to instead say “Oba gha to’kpere”, meaning “May the Oba live long and prosper”, which he was told amounted to a serious cultural violation.

He said, “I am traumatised, I am distraught, and I hear that my sin was that I went to London, and in a public statement, I said, ‘Edo gha to’kperewa,’ which means, ‘May Edo people live long and prosper,’ that I should have said, ‘Oba gha to’kpere,’ which means, ‘May the Oba live long and prosper.’”

Obaseki said the incident had left him traumatised and distraught, insisting that his decades-long work in the creative and cultural space has consistently promoted Benin heritage.

“That my sin, ‘May Edo people live long and prosper,’ is a cardinal sin in Benin, for me, who has elevated the culture of the Benin race. In my 35 to 40 years, as the pioneer of the present, because it is cybernetic, there is no king without subjects,” he said.

The incident has continued to spark public outrage, with growing calls for accountability and an investigation into the actions of those involved in the assault and abduction.

In a viral video seen by SaharaReporters, the actor was stripped to his boxers, forced to kneel, and made to walk on his knees within the palace premises.

He was subsequently taken before individuals dressed in white attire and adorned with beads, believed to be palace chiefs or officials, who escorted him into the palace while the mob remained outside.

Background

The rift between former Governor Godwin Obaseki, Pedro Obaseki’s cousin, and the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, is a complex dispute involving cultural heritage, administrative power, and a deep-seated historical family rivalry.

The conflict gained significant public attention around 2021 and escalated until the end of Obaseki’s tenure in 2024.

The most public flashpoint was the repatriation of thousands of artifacts (the Benin Bronzes) looted by British forces in 1897.

The Oba maintained that the artifacts were stolen from the Palace and should return to the Palace. He advocated for a Benin Royal Museum to be built within the Palace grounds.

However, the then-governor proposed the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), managed by a private entity called the Legacy Restoration Trust. He envisioned this as part of a broader cultural district to boost tourism.

In 2023, the Federal Government of Nigeria stepped in and officially recognized the Oba of Benin as the legal owner and custodian of all repatriated artifacts, effectively siding with the Palace and dealing a blow to Obaseki’s plan.

Also, a major administrative clash occurred when several Enigie (traditional dukes) in Edo South requested the state government to create new, independent traditional councils.

The Palace saw this as a “divide and rule” tactic by Obaseki to “balkanize” the Benin Kingdom and weaken the Oba’s central authority.

When the Oba suspended some of these dukes for “rebellion,” they took the Oba to court, an act considered an abomination by many Bini people. Critics of the governor alleged he was funding and encouraging these legal challenges against the monarch.

Following his exit from office, the Palace alleged that Obaseki withheld statutory monthly allocations to the Benin Traditional Council for seven months.

It also alleged that the state government revoked the concession of the Oba Akenzua II Cultural Centre, which the Palace intended to use for artifact storage, and reportedly converted parts of it into a motor park.

Since the inauguration of the new governor, Monday Okpebholo, the relationship between the Edo State Government and the Palace has shifted dramatically.

The Oba has publicly expressed relief at the change in administration, while the new government has moved to restore the Palace’s statutory entitlements and distance itself from Obaseki’s museum projects.