The coalition urged Tinubu to express an emergency about insecurity in Edo

The Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights has asked the Tinubu Bola President to declare an emergency about insecurity in the state of Edo.

The coalition that appealed in a statement on Saturday, signed by the Coordinator General, Marxis Kola Edokpayi, and Secretary General, Aghasise Raphael, regretted that the Edo state had become a tragic unsafe theater and a landscape where the rules of fear and the lives of citizens were treated with a surprising degree.

In the statement, the coalition said that it was disturbing that the state had become a center of kidnapping, murder, cult activities, and crime while the government had not been able to stop it.

“From the Odighi forest to the outskirts of Oologbo, from Auchi to Abudu, the shadow of kidnapping and violent crime has fallen in the three senator districts. The surge without stopping in kidnapping, ambush, and murder has made the country kneeling, leaving citizens to ask questions: Who, really existed?

“On September 5, 2025, eight civilian defense officers who dared to be killed brutally at the agency, and a Chinese national were kidnapped. On September 6, 2025, an Edo 18 bus was full of plowed and all passengers were kidnapped.

‘The new Catholic Young Seminaries were seized from their training ground, young seminaries had spent more than 50 days in captivity, the government and security institutions did not consider it suitable to secure their release without injury.

“A few days before, medical doctors were kidnapped along Jalan Benin -Auchi, farmers were taken from their agricultural land in Esan, and a respected community leader was struck by weapons in the exposure.

“In Akoko Edo, the Head of Balogun was kidnapped. This is not an isolated tragedy – they are proof that from farmers to priests, passengers to professionals, nothing is safe.

“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 Four Brigade and other heads of security agencies? And what exactly are their plans to quell.

“The constitution is not ambiguous: the security and welfare of the people is the main goal of the government. But in Edo today, this task feels reduced to the point of discussion – solely the reflection that is buried under political calculations.

“We have seen the opportunity for photos and commissioning ceremonies – patrol vehicles and motorbikes that are paraded for cameras. But is this action substance or optical, strategy or performance?

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“Security is not built on the distribution of Hilux van. True protection requires intelligence collection, community collaboration, inter-institutional cohesion, and not a slippage to dismantle the criminal network. Where is the comprehensive blueprint?

“The silence of the governor recognized about this problem is deafening. With a new government in place, people expect a decisive break from past failures. Conversely, what they see is the same old manuscript as ineffectiveness.

‘Did the Governor choose to focus on consolidating political power and fulfilling promises – such as the promise “2.5 million votes for Tinubu in 2027” – at the expense of their most important duties to protect the lives of Edo people? Is the life of citizens now a guarantee damage in political games?

“We, the Edo state civil society coalition for human rights, demand immediate action and determine: the federal government must express an emergency about insecurity in the state of Edo without delay.

“Military strike operations, citizens, and hunters must be launched and forests are combed to get rid of kidnappers and armed terrorists, highways, and border areas where criminals are developing.

“Justice must be served – from the killers of civilian defense officers to seminal kidnappers, commuters, doctors, farmers, and community leaders.

“The leaders of the state Edo must stop playing politics with life. Real security must be rebuilt from the grassroots through collaboration with the community, religious groups, and civil society. There it is necessary to return to the environmental supervision periods introduced by former Governor Adams Oshomhole.

“We remind the government of the task that binds it. Section 14 (2) (b) The 1999 constitution clearly states:” The security and welfare of the people will be the main goal of the government. “And as stated by the ancient proverb:” Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto ” – People’s welfare will be the highest law.

“Above everything, even the President of the Ball Ahmed Tinubu himself emphasized:” Every Nigerian deserves to live without fear. “The safety of citizens cannot be negotiated.

“Edo people do not demand miracles. They demand competence. They do not ask for speeches. They demand a joint plan to end the kidnapping … to credible, transparent, and security strategies that can be followed up and implemented, distrust will be deeper and fear will spread. The mandate of the people is not given to Edo to become a playground and disbelief.

“Edo people will not submit to the kidnapper and cult. We refuse to be governed by fear. If urgent actions are not taken, peace, progress, and governance in the state we will collapse. The practical head is people outside of rhetoric and prove that people outside of rhetoric and prove, through Bold and Practical Institutions that are outside EDO.

‘Whatever is lacking is the betrayal of trust given to His Majesty by voters who are now victims of kidnapping and murder.

“We stood with the victims, their families, and all Edo residents who were trapped in this terror government. Time to act now.”