The silence of the Edo government more than 24 hours after gunmen killed eight officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the series of abductions have provoked anger across the state.

The attacks, which occurred on Friday, saw kidnappers hijack a bus belonging to the New Edo Line Transport Company along the Sobe–Afuze–Auchi Road in Owan West Local Government Area of the state.

Hours later, gunmen stormed the BUA Cement facility in Okpella, Etsako East LGA, killing eight NSCDC personnel and abducting a Chinese national.

Since the incidents, there has been no statement of solidarity or condolences from the government, fueling outrage among civil society groups and citizens.

The Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO), in a statement on Sunday, expressed disappointment over what it described as the government’s habitual silence on security crises.

Aliyu Umweni, assistant secretary-general of the group, said the killings and abductions highlighted the urgent need for decisive leadership.

“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,” he said.

The EDOCSO official called on the government to immediately procure high-tech security equipment, establish a trained special squad to track kidnappers, and mobilise resources to secure the release of abducted victims.

He warned that Edo people would not hesitate to take to the streets in protest if action was not taken within 48 hours.

“The Nigeria Police Force should also rejig its operations and focus more on violent crimes rather than the numerous roadblocks mounted at short distances within Benin City metropolis.

“The roadblocks have become a point of extortion and intimidation of citizens,” Mr Umweni said.

Similarly, the Edo Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights urged the federal government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the state.

In a statement signed by its coordinator-general, Kola Edokpayi, and secretary-general, Aghatise Raphael, the coalition called for a joint military, police, hunters, and community vigilante task force to rid the state of kidnappers and terrorists.

“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 group said.

The coalition cited the killings of cocoa farmers, the abduction of doctors, and the prolonged captivity of Catholic seminarians as evidence of widespread insecurity across the three senatorial districts.

It urged Gov. Monday Okpebholo to improve on his constitutional duty as chief security officer of the state, describing the governor’s purported silence on this matter as deafening.

The coalition stressed that Edo people were not demanding miracles but competence.

“They are not asking for speeches; they are demanding a plan to end kidnapping.

“Until a credible, transparent, and actionable security strategy is unveiled, distrust will deepen and fear will spread,” it warned.

Other stakeholders, who echoed similar sentiments, included Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, a former commissioner, who advocated a revival of the dismantled CCTV monitoring system introduced by the erstwhile governor Godwin Obaseki.

According to him, this measure will strengthen surveillance across the state.

On his part, Jelil Ainakhuagbor, former vice chairman of Etsako Local Government Area of the state, described the situation as “a civilian coup against citizens.”

Curtis Eghosa Ugbo, a community leader, added that no government could afford to ignore the cries of its people in the face of escalating insecurity.

(NAN)