Our reporter
Benin City was thrown into mourning on Wednesday following the tragic death of a two-year-old girl in an incident linked to revenue enforcement agents in the Edo State capital. The young child was killed when a commercial bus, allegedly wrestled out of control by operatives of the Edo State Public Safety Response Team (PSR), rammed into a roadside kiosk near Ring Road.
Eyewitnesses recounted how a dispute between the bus driver and the PSR officials escalated into a physical struggle. In their bid to seize control of the moving vehicle, the operatives inadvertently caused the driver to lose command, sending the bus careening off the road and into the kiosk where the toddler and her mother were standing. The child was fatally struck, while her mother sustained injuries.
An enraged crowd at the scene reportedly apprehended the PSR operatives, subjecting them to mob justice before escorting them, along with the child’s body, to a nearby police station.
The tragedy has sparked widespread condemnation, with residents and civil rights groups demanding urgent government intervention. Critics have accused the PSR of reckless tactics, with calls intensifying for the unit’s disbandment. Many have urged Governor Monday Okpebholo to revert to the cashless revenue collection system previously in place, which did not rely on aggressive street enforcement.
Despite growing public anger, neither the Edo State Government nor the police had issued an official statement at the time of this report. The silence has only deepened concerns over the state’s handling of revenue enforcement and public safety.
“This is more than a tragic accident—it is a failure of governance,” one protester remarked. “No parent should have to bury their child because of an avoidable act of recklessness.”
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