Arising from the recent wave of insecurity in Edo State, the Edo State Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights has called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the state.

It would be recalled that eight operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), attached to the BUA Cement Factory in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area in the state, were killed by suspected kidnappers on Friday, September 5, 2025.

While four operatives of the NSCDC reportedly sustained varying degrees of bullet wounds, the alleged kidnappers whisked away a Chinese National during the operation.

The incident was reported to have happened at about 10 pm, when the NSCDC officers were escorting five Chinese expatriates of BUA Cement Factory after a routine patrol at the company’s entrance.

Same Friday, September 5, gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, abducted the occupants of an 18-seater bus, belonging to the Edo State Government (New Edo Line Transport Company), that of a Toyota Camry on the Benin-Akure road.

The suspects who reportedly laid ambush on the road, according to eyewitness account, intercepted the two vehicles at gun point and forced the occupants into the bush after shooting sporadically into the air.

Also, some young Catholic seminarians were recently seized from their training grounds in Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area in Edo.

Findings revealed that the young seminarians have spent more than 50 days in the captivity without any hope of regaining freedom.

Reacting to these security breaches in the state, Marxist Kola Edokpayi, and Comrade Aghatise Raphael, Coordinator-General and Secretary-General, Edo State Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights, through a press statement jointly signed by the duo, said that Edo is becoming a tragic theatre of insecurity by the recent developments.

The Coalition added that Edo is becoming a landscape where fear rules and the lives of the people are treated with what it termed as “shocking disregard”.

The statement said: “From the forests of Odighi to the outskirts of Ologbo, from Auchi to Abudu, the shadow of kidnapping and violent crime has fallen across all three senatorial districts.

“The relentless surge in abductions, ambushes, and killings has brought the state to its knees, leaving citizens to wonder: who, if anyone, is truly in charge?

“On 5th September 2025, eight brave Civil Defence officers were brutally murdered in Agenebode, and a Chinese National abducted. On 6th September 2025, a full 18-seater Edo Line bus was hijacked and all passengers kidnapped.

“The fundamental question on the lips of every Edolite is this: Where is the Chief Security Officer of the state, Governor Monday Okpebhol?. Where is the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, where is the Director of State Security Service, where is the Brigade Commander, of Fourth Mechanised Brigade and other heads of security agencies?

“And what exactly are their plans to quell this raging menace? The Constitution is unambiguous: the security and welfare of the people Is the primary purpose of government. Yet in Edo today, this duty feels reduced to a talking point — a mere afterthought buried under political calculations.

“We have seen photo opportunities and commissioning ceremonies — patrol vehicles and motorbikes paraded for the cameras. But are these measures substance or optics, strategy or show?

“Security is not built on the distribution of Hilux vans. True protection requires intelligence gathering, community collaboration, inter-agency cohesion, and an unflinching resolve to dismantle criminal networks.

“Where is the comprehensive blueprint? Where is the measurable plan to flush out the armed groups that have turned Edo’s highways and communities into a killing ground?

“The governor’s purported silence on this matter is deafening. With a new administration in place, the people expected a decisive break from the failures of the past. Instead, what they see is the same old script of ineffectiveness.

“Has the Governor chosen to focus on consolidating political power and delivering on partisan promises — like the pledge of “2.5 million votes for Tinubu in 2027” — at the expense of his foremost duty to protect the lives of Edo people? Are citizens’ lives now collateral damage in a political game?

“We, the Edo State Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights, demand immediate and decisive action:

“The Federal Government must declare a State of Emergency on Insecurity in Edo State without delay.

“A joint military–police, citizens and hunters strike operation must be launched and forests combed to get rid of armed Kidnappers and terrorists, highways, and border areas where criminals thrive.

“Justice must be served — from the killers of Civil Defence officers to the abductors of seminarians, commuters, doctors, farmers, and community leaders.

“Edo State leaders must stop playing politics with lives. Real security must be rebuilt from the grassroots through collaboration with communities, faith groups, and civil society.

“There is need to go back to the days of neighbourhood watch introduced by former Governor Adams Aliu Eric Oshiomhole”, the Coalition demanded. (Sunday Tribune)

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