By Ayo Kehinde
Fresh tension has enveloped the University of Benin following the dramatic resignation of the Chairman of the university’s Cult Renunciation, Reconciliation, Reformation, Rehabilitation and Interfaith Committee (CR4IC), Reverend and university chaplain, Egbenusi Osazee David, after a deadly cult-related attack reportedly claimed the life of a student near the institution’s main gate on Sunday evening.
The resignation, which has sparked anxiety within the university community, came amid allegations of administrative intimidation, institutional silence over rising cult activities, and growing fears over the deteriorating security situation around the campus.
In a detailed three-page resignation letter dated May 10, 2026, and addressed to the Vice Chancellor of the university, the cleric formally stepped down as Chairman of the CR4IC “with immediate effect.
He cited what he described as the university administration’s persistent failure to act on intelligence, security recommendations, and reconciliation proposals aimed at tackling cultism within the institution.
The chaplain stated that since his appointment as chairman of the anti-cultism committee, he had consistently submitted proposals designed to strengthen peacebuilding, discourage cultism, promote reconciliation, and restore sanity within the university community, but lamented that the recommendations received little or no institutional support.
According to him, the committee gradually became ineffective because its recommendations were allegedly ignored by the authorities.
“A committee whose considered recommendations are consistently left unaddressed ceases to be an instrument of change and risks becoming a veneer of institutional seriousness in the face of a menace that demands genuine action,” he wrote.
The cleric disclosed that the immediate incident that triggered his resignation occurred on Sunday after he reportedly received video clips showing suspected cult activities around the university environment.
He explained that, acting in line with his responsibilities as chairman of the committee and in the interest of public safety, he forwarded the clips to the Vice Chancellor with a message urging urgent intervention and necessary action.
According to the letter, barely two hours later, sporadic gunshots were allegedly heard around the Chapel Vicarage area on campus, after which he reportedly received additional clips showing a violent cult confrontation in front of the university gate along the Benin-Lagos Expressway, where a person was allegedly killed.
The cleric stated that he immediately forwarded the new clips to the Vice Chancellor as further evidence of the worsening security threat confronting the institution.
However, he alleged that instead of mobilising security response or initiating emergency measures, the Vice Chancellor allegedly reacted angrily and demanded that the clips be deleted.
“Within minutes, you telephoned me. The nature of that call was not commensurate with the gravity of the security situation I had brought to your attention,” the letter read.
The chaplain further alleged that the Vice Chancellor issued repeated ultimatums, reducing the deadline from five minutes to three and later to two minutes, within which he was allegedly ordered to delete the video materials.
He also claimed that threats were made to report him to Anglican authorities and deploy university security personnel to remove him from the Chapel Vicarage should he fail to comply.
The cleric described the alleged threats as “unwarranted, disproportionate and inconsistent” with the dignity of both offices, insisting that the actions amounted to intimidation against the chaplaincy and an attack on the integrity of the church within the institution.
He maintained that he refused to delete the clips because they represented critical evidence relating to a violent incident in which a life was lost.
“I must also state, with the utmost seriousness, that I have not deleted the said clips and shall not do so. A human life was lost this evening. Whatever legal, investigative, or disciplinary processes that loss may properly trigger require that evidence be preserved, not destroyed,” he stated.
The resignation letter also exposed what appears to be a deeper institutional crisis between the university administration and the chaplaincy leadership.
The cleric insisted that the chaplaincy of All Saints’ Chapel was not a department under the Vice Chancellor’s office and could not be subjected to administrative intimidation in matters involving conscience, pastoral responsibility, and prophetic witness.
He further clarified that the Anglican Bishop allegedly referenced during the confrontation remained his ecclesiastical superior and not that of the university administration, adding that the bishop had already been informed of the incident and surrounding developments.
Resigning from the committee, the chaplain stressed that his decision was not motivated by fear or retreat but by the conviction that the committee could no longer function meaningfully where security intelligence was allegedly met with threats instead of a decisive institutional response.
“I do so not in retreat, and not in fear. I do so in the interest of the dignity of this sacred office, in fidelity to my pastoral calling, and in the conviction that a committee cannot serve its purpose when the very authority that established it responds to security intelligence with threats rather than with action,” he wrote.
Despite his resignation as chairman, the cleric reaffirmed the commitment of the chapel to continue serving students and speaking against cult violence and injustice within the university environment.
The incident has since heightened fears among students, parents, and residents of Benin City, particularly against the backdrop of recurring cult clashes and violent confrontations involving rival groups in tertiary institutions across Edo State.
Students who spoke anonymously expressed concerns over safety around the school gates and adjoining hostels, especially at night, while some called on security agencies and university authorities to urgently strengthen surveillance and intelligence gathering within and around the campus.
As of the time of filing this report, the management of the University of Benin had yet to issue an official statement responding to the allegations contained in the resignation letter.
