Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has said he began casting out demons at the age of 17 or 18, describing early spiritual experiences that he linked to his approach to fighting insecurity and cultism in the state.
The governor made the remark on Monday during a service at The Votage Church, while addressing young worshippers. A video of the comments has since circulated online.
“When I see young ones standing in the presence of God, I remembered at 17, 18, I’ve also started casting out demons,” Okpebholo said, according to accounts of the service.
He tied that experience to the security challenges facing Edo, particularly cult related violence. “Fighting insecurities, especially cultism, is not a new thing to me. It is something that has been happening,” he added.
Okpebholo also recalled the influence of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, founder of the Church of God Mission International, whose Pentecostal ministry was widely followed in Edo and across Nigeria. The church, in a statement after the service, said it was honoured to host the governor and that prayers were offered for the state.
The comments have drawn mixed reactions on social media, with some users questioning the appropriateness of the remarks and others defending the governor’s account of his faith.
The reference to cultism is not incidental to his tenure. Security has been a central plank of Okpebholo’s administration since he took office, and his statement frames his personal history as part of that agenda.
Okpebholo was sworn in on 12 November 2024 after the All Progressives Congress candidate defeated the Peoples Democratic Party’s Asue Ighodalo in the 21 September 2024 governorship election. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, he polled 291,667 votes to Ighodalo’s 247,274, with the Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata a distant third on 22,763.
The result was contested through the courts. The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal dismissed Ighodalo’s petition in April 2025, the Court of Appeal affirmed the outcome the following month, and the Supreme Court upheld Okpebholo’s election on 10 July 2025, bringing the dispute to a close. Ighodalo accepted the finality of the judgment but rejected its substance.
On security, Okpebholo signed the Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) Law, 2025, early in his tenure, replacing a 2018 version. The law prescribes a mandatory 10 year term for harbouring cultists, up to 21 years for sponsors, and the death penalty for cult related killings. A separate amendment to the state’s kidnapping law prescribes death where a victim dies and life imprisonment where a victim survives.
The security record has not been without criticism. In early 2025, opposition figures accused the governor of a slow response to insecurity, citing the lynching of a group of travellers in Uromi in March that year. His administration has since pointed to arrests and prosecutions under the new laws as evidence that the approach is working.
Public comments blending personal faith with the duties of office are common among Nigerian politicians, who frequently address congregations and invoke religious language during official engagements. Such remarks tend to be reported widely, particularly when captured on video and shared online.
Idahosa, whom the governor referenced, remains a significant figure in Edo’s religious history. He was among the pioneers of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria before his death in 1998, and his church continues to hold a large following in Benin City and beyond.