Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has declared that criminal prosecution may follow ongoing investigations into the controversial Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) project.

The governor made this known on Friday while receiving the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, during a courtesy visit to Government House, Benin City.

According to a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, Governor Okpebholo said the time had come to address the matter openly.

“I didn’t want to talk about this publicly again, but we must now state the facts. At the end of the day, there will be criminal prosecution on this matter. We are not against investors — our duty is to protect Edo State and, by extension, Nigeria. No criminal will find a hiding place here,” he said.

The governor stressed that his administration is firmly committed to transparency, accountability and institutional integrity in handling the MOWAA controversy. While the government welcomes genuine investors, he warned that any illegal activity uncovered will be addressed through due process.

Okpebholo revealed that his team discovered suspicious alterations to MOWAA’s registration documents, allegedly made just six days before he assumed office. He described these changes as “deeply troubling.”

He also expressed displeasure that his administration was kept in the dark about the arrival of foreign delegates invited for what he termed a questionable commissioning ceremony, noting that such secrecy further raised concerns about the project’s credibility.

Top government officials present at the meeting included the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku; Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilo; Chief of Staff, Mallam Gani Audu; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Roland Otaru (SAN); and the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, among others.

Governor Okpebholo reaffirmed that his government will work with the Federal Government, traditional institutions and relevant stakeholders to ensure transparency and fairness in resolving the MOWAA issue, as well as other matters affecting the state.

Earlier in the week, the governor had criticised what he described as the previous administration’s lack of transparency in managing the project. He questioned how the initiative evolved from the Benin Royal Museum to the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) and eventually to MOWAA without clear consultation with the Benin Kingdom.

His predecessor, Godwin Obaseki, however, dismissed Okpebholo’s concerns, describing them as misleading.