By Charles Pemu 
A volatile intersection of traditional loyalty and political friction manifested in Benin City on December 28, 2025, when Don Pedro Obaseki, a prominent filmmaker and relative of former Governor Godwin Obaseki, was subjected to a violent public assault.
Reports indicate that suspected thugs intercepted the veteran creative at Uwa Primary School during a recreational football session. The encounter quickly degenerated into a physical altercation where the victim was stripped naked and forcibly relocated to the vicinity of the Oba’s palace.
Social media footage capturing the incident depicts a group of individuals dragging the victim before local chiefs, where he was compelled to kneel under duress. The assailants reportedly presented him to palace guards as an antagonist of the traditional institution, utilizing the term “Oghion,” an Edo expression signifying an enemy of the crown.
While the specific statements attributed to the filmmaker remain unverified, the nature of the confrontation suggests a deepening resentment linked to long-standing disputes between the former gubernatorial administration and the Benin traditional council.
The roots of this hostility can be traced to several policy clashes during the tenure of former Governor Godwin Obaseki. Central to these tensions was the administration’s decision to ban “Okaigheles,” or traditional youth leaders, across seven local government areas of the state.
The former governor maintained that the activities of these leaders inadvertently facilitated cultism and insecurity. However, the Palace of the Oba of Benin vehemently rejected the prohibition, asserting that the Okaigheles represent a fundamental and ancient component of the kingdom’s security and administrative hierarchy.
Further strain was placed on the relationship regarding the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes, thousands of historic artifacts looted by British forces in 1897. While the Oba maintained that the treasures must return to the custody of the palace from which they were stolen, the previous state administration championed the establishment of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), to be managed by a private entity. Although the current reasons for the assault on Don Pedro Obaseki are still emerging, the incident highlights the fragile state of civil-traditional relations in the post-Obaseki era of Edo politics.