The legendary great Benin warrior General Ologbosere after his capture on 19 may 1899, flanked by African colonial regiments. Chiefs Obakhavbaye, Obayuwana and Uso, and Okaokuo Ugiagbe, commanders of the Benin militias that annihilated Phillip’s invasion force at Ugbine, were also arrested and detained. That night Obayuwana committed suicide in detention. Sir Moor, ordered Obayuwana’s body hung up in the front of the ruined Oba’s palace. Chiefs Uso and Obakhavbaye were publicly executed. On the 27 June 1899 the British occupation forces executed Chiefs Irabor, Ologbosere and Ebohon for defending their homeland. Benin Kingdom was the last to be captured by the British forces that invaded west Africa.....it was also the most difficult to be captured.......In fact, in Western Nigeria the Eleko of Eko king Dosunmu without any attempt to fight at all relinquished his Authority to the British Crown in 1861 and Lagos became a British Colony........After this other Yoruba Kings like the Oni of Ife and Alafin of Oyo e.t.c followed suit....these happened despite their boastings of having Powerful shrines and Charms that can defend them ....i think those shrine and charms were mere delusions.........in the North there was a Powerful resistance by the Sultan of Sokoto Attahiru, who was the Head of the Sokoto Caliphate, that stretched through the whole of Northern Nigeria down to Auchi Edo state in the South........But after only 3 days of Intensive Bombardment by the British forces, Sokoto Caliphate fell and the Sultan Attahiru Surrendered the Caliphate to Colonialism.....But his Chief Warrior the Emir of Kano, resisted and so the British forces marched on Kano and Kano fell in Just one day.

The Ibos in the East did not offer much resistance because they were acephalous and republican in Nature.....they had no form of centralised Government and thus were easily Colonised......in the south King Jaja of Opobo and and the itsekiri Regent Nana were easily Captured and deported to foreign lands.....in Urhobo land where i come from after the deportation of overame nobody dared resist the British......Chief Ayomanor Evwide and Chief Omarin quickly leased Okpe urhobo lands of Sapele to the British for 99 years in 1908, though for a Rent.
But the Binis under Oba overame resisted vehemently and were the only Army THAT DEFEATED THE BRITISH FORCES AT FIRST.
This battle led by the Ologbosere on the Benin side and Captain Philips on the British side took Place at Ugbine near ughoton......and a British force of 125 men were massacred mostly by beheadings......This news went to london and the British Press, Parliament and People cried for vengeance as it will be a disgrace for a "Primitive tribe" to defeat British soldiers....and so a Punitive expedition was sent to Benin.........Heavy cannon shellings bombarded Benin for a whole 10 days, there was massive bombings and Arson in Akpakpava and Sokponba areas of Benin......but after 10 days the Powerful Benin forces that had not be defeated for over 800 years fell to the superior fire Power of the British under General Moor.
Overame was Captured and Deported.
It is interesting to note that today many Communities of the Esan, Akure, Urhobo, Agbor, Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiris would have been Muslims today if not for the might of the Benin Kingdom.......following the Forceful conversion of the Auchi and Jattu kings down to Agbede to Islam by the Jihadists men of Uthman dan Fodio, Esanland was the next target followed by the Binis.......But the "Ekponeme" Soldiers of Benin quickly came out to Esan land and gave the Jihadists a Crushing defeat.......they retreated and that was the end of the Islamisation Process of Nigeria.......But in our History books they claimed they were not defeated but that most of their horses and men were bitten by tse tse fly and so died of trypanosiomiasis..........But their bodies were carried to Benin and deposited in Benin Forests.....and when Captain Hamilton entered Benin the very first time, he saw these many corpses and accused the Benin Kings of Bloody Human Sacrifices.
By Ejiro Imuere

How much were u paid by the Binis for this write up? Of a truth the Benin empire is the most respected in Nigeria but am still wondering why Benin-city has refused to progress since the fall of Ovoramwen nogbatin. In todays world I doubt if Bini people can defeat other Nigerian minorities like themselves in an ethnic conflict.

jared007:
How much were u paid by the Binis for this write up? Of a truth the Benin empire is the most respected in Nigeria but am still wondering why Benin-city has refused to progress since the fall of Ovoramwen nogbatin. In todays world I doubt if Bini people can defeat other Nigerian minorities like themselves in an ethnic conflict.

Sorry guy, I'm not writer neither was anybody paid to write it. A friend wrote it and i felt should share this bit of Benin history which Binis and non-Binis are unaware of. Moreso, as the Yorubas are full of bragging about their embellished history but they don't know anything about the exploits of a modern day minority people like Binis and the general Edo people who shared this history.
You may doubt the strength of today's binis because they are generally laid back but don't test them. An average bini person(male or female) is tough and stubborn to the core and when pushed to the wall you won't believe what they can do. They don't believe in bragging without action, if a bini man tells you "i will break your head" don't test his will, he would do it if he has to just prove that he meant it when he said it.

DeRay98:


Sorry guy, I'm not writer neither was anybody paid to write it. A friend wrote it and i felt should share this bit of Benin history which Binis and non-Binis are unaware of. Moreso, as the Yorubas are full of bragging about their embellished history but they don't know anything about the exploits of a modern day minority people like Binis and the general Edo people who shared this history.
You may doubt the strength of today's binis because they are generally laid back but don't test them. An average bini person(male or female) is tough and stubborn to the core and when pushed to the wall you won't believe what they can do. They don't believe in bragging without action, if a bini man tells you "i will break your head" don't test his will, he would do it if he has to just prove that he meant it when he said it.

TRUE ,HE WILL DO IT.I'M FROM EDO I KNOW MY PEOPLE