Filmmaker Don Pedro Obaseki has narrated a traumatic experience in Benin City where he said he was attacked, beaten, stripped naked and taken to the palace of the Oba of Benin.
Speaking in an interview with African Independent Television (AIT), Obaseki said the incident happened on Sunday, December 28, 2025, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., while he was playing football with friends at Uwa Primary School in Benin.
According to him, a group of young men suddenly arrived at the field and claimed they were sent by the Oba of Benin. He said they did not show any form of identification when he asked.
“Today, at about 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Sunday, the 28th of December, while playing football with my football mates at Uwa Primary School in Benin. Assailants attacked the place, and I was physically abducted – I’m sorry, physically kidnapped,” he said.
Obaseki said he was beaten and dragged through parts of the city, including Igbisa and Agpapava, before being taken to Ring Road. He said he was stripped naked in public before being taken to the palace.
“I begged them to show me some form of ID (identity card). Of course not, but I was dragged, beaten severely, manhandled, and dragged through Igbisa and straight up to Agpapava, 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 public. I have never been so humiliated,” he said.
He added that he was later taken to a police station along Oba Market Road, where he was eventually released following the intervention of the Edo State Commissioner of Police.
Obaseki said the incident may be connected to a statement he made during a public event in London, where he said “Edo Ato Kpee,” meaning “may Edo people live long and prosper,” instead of a phrase referring directly to the Oba.
“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 Ato Kpee,’ which means, ‘May Edo people live long and prosper.’ That I should have said, ‘Oba Ato Kpeee,’ may the Oba live long and prosper,” he said.
Videos from the incident later circulated on social media, drawing public reactions.
A lawyer, Rockson A. Igelige, has condemned the incident, describing the alleged assault and public stripping as criminal. He called on the Edo State Government and the police to investigate the matter and ensure accountability.
The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party also condemned the incident, describing it as dehumanising and calling for respect for the rule of law.
