The Edo State Government has uncovered a brothel operating within the premises of Ujuele Primary School in Esan West Local Government Area and has since sealed off the premises, according to officials.
Eugene Okolosie, State Coordinator for the Protection of Government Property, made the revelation during a press conference held in Benin City on Thursday, May 22, 2025. He also disclosed that the government has recovered more than 2,000 plots of encroached land across the state.
Okolosie described the situation as alarming, stating, “A lot of government properties have been taken over illegally. Seven percent of our historic moats have been encroached upon, and public schools are the most affected.”
At Ambrose Alli University, he said, several plots had been reclaimed from land grabbers following community reports of forged documents. “The community alerted us that their signatures had been forged, prompting us to take action. We’ve managed to recover about 90% of the land, including school properties,” he said.
In the case of Ujuele Primary School, a brothel had been constructed and was actively operating within the school compound. “We have sealed the premises,” Okolosie confirmed, adding that the government is currently in discussions about repurposing such illegally developed sites.
In another troubling instance, he noted that in Iyoba, the local community had divided a school’s land in two and sold half to private buyers. “A kitchen was even built next to a classroom—how can children concentrate on learning when the smell of stew wafts into their classroom? That case is also under investigation, and suspects have been summoned.”
Okolosie also urged those interested in acquiring land in Edo State to verify the status of properties through the Edo Geographic Information Service (EdoGIS) to avoid falling prey to land scams.
He revealed that the agency has received over 3,000 petitions from communities concerning illegal land acquisitions in the past two months and vowed that the state government remains committed to reclaiming all encroached public properties.
