First half goals from Imade Osehenkhoe and Ismael Seriki was all Bendel Insurance of Benin needed to defeat Akwa United season and secure their first win of the season away from home.
The newly promoted Benin Arsenals won the NNL in 2022 after clinching the Super four tournament to end the second tier league last year.
Being a two-time Nigerian league champions before the advent of professional league, the Coach Monday Odigie led side are reputed to be one of the traditional teams in the country with great antecedent drew from their superb form of the late 1970s.
The result leaves, Akwa United who are the 2021 champions of the league to more work to do as the full fixtures of the new season take off next weekend.