Edo: CSOs ask FG to declare state-of-emergency on security over killings, abductions

By Jethro Ibileke

Residents and civil society groups in Edo are calling on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the state, following the killing of eight personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the abduction of 18 passengers of New Edo Line bus.

The callS followed Governor Monday Okpebholo’s silence on the two incidents after of over 24 hours as there have been no official statement from the state commissioner for Information and Communication, Paul Ohonbamu, or media aides to the Governor.

The NSCDC personnel were killed, four others injure and a Chinese expatriate abducted Friday night at BUA cement company, Okpella in Etsako East Local Government Area of the State, while the 18 passengers were abducted on Saturday along Sobe-Afuze-Auchi road, in Owan West Local Government Area on Friday at about 4.30 pm,

It would be recalled that when some Ijaw militias invaded some communities in Ovia South-West Local Government Area and killed over 27 cocoa farmers and injured 34 others on February 22, 2025, it took Governor Okpebholo two long weeks before making official pronouncement or visiting the communities.

The Government’s silence on the latest incidents of killings and abductions has however generated negative reactions from citizens and who called on Governor Okpebholo to end his overseas trip immediately and return home to attend to state issues, particularly insecurity.

They worry that the alleged plan by the Governor to spend the taxpayers money to buy over ₦4.2 billion Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for 28 Commissioners-nominees, noting that the Governor had few months ago spent about ₦1.5 billion to purchase SUVs made by a company in Nigeria for the “illegal” 17 acting local government chairmen and also approving the sum of ₦2.5 billion to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), could have been channeled to buy sophisticated security equipment such as drones and others.

The citizens also urged the government in the state to revive the alleged dismantled CCTV monitoring apparatus of the past government of the former Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO), while calling on the State government and all the security agencies to wake up to their responsibilities and ensure the lives and property of citizens are protected, noted that the people dessired to be protected from the activities of the marauding kidnappers who seemed to have laid siege in different parts of the state.

EDOCSO in a statement signed by its Assistant Secretary-General, Leftist Aliyu Umweni, urged Governor Okpebholo to pay less attention to the 2027 presidential elections for now and concentrate more on securing the lives of Edo people with the security votes being collected monthly.

They also urged the government to procure High-tech equipment and a special squad trained to go after the kidnappers and other criminal elements in the State.

“The leadership and members of Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO) has deemed it necessary to raise serious concerns over the incessant and unabated kidnapping of citizens in different parts of the state.

“The most troubling duo incidents which took place on the 6th of September, 2025 wherein eight (8) personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp got killed and a Chinese national abducted by the daredevil kidnappers and the abduction of all passengers on a bus belonging to the state government transport company is one too many.

“There have been reports of kidnapping activities in Orhionmwon, Ovia, Uhunmwonde, Akoko-edo, Auchi, Ikpoba Okha, Edo Central and parts of Oredo where the seat of government is domiciled.

“All our neighbouring states have intensified efforts in pursuing the kidnappers out of their territories thereby making Edo state their safe haven for their activities.

“The state governor should at this time bother less with the 2027 elections and concentrate more on securing the lives of Edo people with the monthly security votes being collected.

“The Nigeria Police Force should rejig its operations and focus more on violent crimes rather than the numerous road blocks mounted in short distances within Benin City metropolis which has become a point of extortion and intimidation of citizens.

“The state government and the security agencies should take actions in securing the release of those abducted by kidnappers and ensure no further activities of the kidnappers should be heard in Edo state.

“High-tech equipment should be procured and a special squad trained to go after these kidnappers”, the statement said.

The group has however, threatened to mobilize its members and Edo people for protest if the state government failed to take action within the next 48 hours.

On its part, the Edo State Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights called on the Federal Government to declare a State of Emergency on insecurity in the state without delay.

Its statement signed by Marxist Kola Edokpayi, Coordinator General and Aghatise Raphael Secretary-General respectively called for the establishment of a joint military, police, citizens and hunters strike operations to comb the forests and rid the state of Kidnappers, terrorists and other criminals.

While urging the Edo State leaders to stop playing politics with human lives, he noted that justice must be served to the killers of Civil Defence officers to the abductors of seminarians, commuters, doctors, farmers, and community leaders across the state.

The group opined that real security must be rebuilt from the grassroots through collaboration with communities, faith groups, and civil society.

It, however, posited that there was no need to go back to the days of neighbourhood watch introduced by the former administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

“Edo State has become a tragic theatre of insecurity, a landscape where fear rules and the lives of ordinary citizens are treated with shocking disregard.

“From the forests of Odighi in Ovia North- East to the outskirts of Ologbo in Ikpoba Okha, from Auchi, Etsako West to Abudu, Orhionmwon local government areas 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.

“Young Catholic seminarians were recently seized from their training grounds, the young seminarians have spent more than 50 days in the captivity, the Government and security agencies have not deemed it fit to secure their release unhurt.

“Days earlier, medical doctors were abducted along the Benin–Auchi Road, farmers were taken from their farmlands in Esan, and a respected community leader was snatched at gunpoint in Ekpoma. In Akoko Edo, Chief Balogun was kidnapped.

“These are not isolated tragedies. They are proof that from farmers to priests, commuters to professionals, no one is safe.

“The fundamental question on the lips of every Edolite is this: Where is the Chief Security Officer of the state, Governor Monday Okpebholo, where is the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, where is the Director of State Security Service, where is the Brigade Commander, of 4th 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.

“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?.

“Edo people are not demanding miracles. They are demanding competence. They are not asking for speeches. They are demanding a concerted plan to end Kidnapping.

“Until a credible, transparent, and actionable security strategy is unveiled and implemented, distrust will deepen and fear will spread. The people’s mandate was not given for Edo to become a playground for kidnappers and killers.

“Edo people will not bow to kidnappers and cultists. We refuse to be ruled by fear. If urgent action is not taken, peace, progress, and governance in our state will collapse entirely. The time for gestures is over.

“The Chief Security Officer and heads of security agencies must act now beyond rhetoric and prove, through bold and practical measures, that the lives of Edo People are their highest priority. Anything less is a betrayal of trust given to His Excellency by the electorate who are now victims of kidnapping and killings.

“We stand with victims, their families, and all Edo residents trapped in this reign of terror. The time to act is now,” the group stated.