Civil society groups and citizens have criticised the Edo State Government for keeping mute more than 24 hours after suspected kidnappers killed eight personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and abducted passengers of a state-owned bus.
The attack occurred on Friday, September 5, 2025, along the Sobe–Afuze–Auchi Road in Owan West Local Government Area, where gunmen ambushed a New Edo Line Transport Company bus and killed the security personnel. Several abductees, including a Chinese national, remain in captivity.
Despite the gravity of the incident, there has been no official statement from Governor Monday Okpebholo, the Commissioner for Information, Paul Ohonbamu, or any of the governor’s media aides. The silence has drawn outrage, with many accusing the state government of a recurring pattern of delayed responses to violent crimes.
Observers recalled that when suspected Ijaw militias attacked cocoa farmers in Ovia South-West LGA on February 22, killing at least 27 people, Governor Okpebholo did not visit the community until March 6.
The killings and abductions have since sparked strong reactions from civil society organisations, who are now calling for urgent intervention from both the state and federal governments.
The Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO), in a statement signed by Assistant Secretary-General Aliyu Umweni, accused the state government of neglecting its primary duty to protect lives. The group urged the governor to focus less on politics and more on security.
“The state governor should at this time bother less about the 2027 elections and concentrate more on securing the lives of Edo people with the monthly security votes being collected,” EDOCSO stated.
The group further demanded the deployment of high-tech surveillance equipment, the creation of a special anti-kidnapping squad, and stronger collaboration among security agencies. It warned that failure to act within 48 hours could trigger mass protests across the state.
Similarly, the Edo State Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights, led by Marxist Kola Edokpayi and Aghatise Raphael, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on security in Edo. The coalition proposed a joint military, police, and community task force to comb forests and flush out kidnappers.
“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,” the coalition said, lamenting the growing wave of abductions targeting farmers, doctors, priests, community leaders, and commuters.
The group also questioned the silence of state security chiefs, insisting that “the constitution is unambiguous: the security and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government.”
Other stakeholders, including the civic group Gidigba, former Commissioner Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, former Etsako LGA Vice Chairman Jelil Ainakhuagbor, and Elder Curtis Eghosa Ugbo, also condemned the government’s inaction and demanded urgent security reforms.
For now, tension remains high in Edo as families of victims await concrete action from the state government and security agencies to rescue abducted persons and stem the wave of violence.