Don Pedro Obaseki, a cousin of former Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, has announced plans to seek legal redress over an incident in which he was allegedly assaulted in Benin City last December.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Obaseki said the decision followed consultations with his immediate family, legal advisers, and respected elders within the Obaseki family and clan.
He explained that the action was not motivated by revenge or politics but by the need to uphold accountability and protect human dignity.
“This is to announce my decision to seek redress in court following my harassment on December 28 in Benin,” he said.
According to him, he was forcibly seized in public by armed men in what he described as a daylight operation intended to intimidate residents.
Obaseki alleged that the attackers stripped him naked at Uwa Primary School, where he had gone to play football, before taking him to the palace and compelling him to kneel at the gate.
“They told the guards that they had brought an ‘Oghion,’ an enemy of the Oba,” he said.
He added that he was detained for several hours without any formal allegation, despite sustaining injuries.
Describing the experience as a serious violation of his fundamental rights, Obaseki stated that the acts amounted to terrorism-related violence under Nigerian law.
“The use of armed force, explicit threats to life and public intimidation were aimed at creating fear beyond the immediate victim,” he said.
He disclosed that his abductors claimed to be acting on the instructions of the Oba of Benin or the Palace.
However, he confirmed that the Benin Traditional Council had formally denied any involvement.
“I welcome and accept the clarification issued by the Benin Traditional Council as the official position of the Palace,” he said.
Obaseki added that both civil and criminal actions would be pursued and that international human-rights organisations had been notified.
“My action is not only to restore my personal dignity and protect my family, but also to send a clear message that no one has the right to abduct or dehumanise any citizen outside the law,” he said.
He further revealed that human-rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, would serve as lead counsel in the case.
The legal actions, he said, would be directed at those directly responsible and any individuals found to have aided or enabled the alleged offences.
