By George Mgbeleke

Civil rights advocacy group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has applauded residents of Ekpoma in Edo state for staging peaceful demonstrations against the rising waves of insecurity marked by incessant and unprecedented rate of kidnappings for ransoms, just as HURIWA has denounced the attacks by terrorists on schoolchildren and farming communities in the Northern states of Nigeria and the ugly fact that the government at both the centre and the federating units are only focused on next year’s elections and the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu even amidst the near collapse of the nation’s economy.

“It is our projection that going by the global trends of civil protests even in some of the most repressive countries like Iran, the combination of the uncontrollable, unchecked high costs of living, the high rates of youth unemployment, rising costs of electricity energy, poor electricity supplies, high costs of petrol and cooking gas, the collapse of basic infrastructural facilities of health, roads networks, poor public schools and the unpopular taxation regime introduced this month by the current government coupled with the unprecedented rate of attacks by terrorists and incessant kidnappings for ransoms by armed non-state actors who operate freely as if there is no government in Nigeria, the people of Nigeria may be pushed to the walls and compelled to organise protests bigger than what we saw in the year 2020 when Nigerians from all walks of lives protested nationwide against police brutality. The protest in Ekpoma Edo state is only but a small sample of what may happen should the Federal government continues to neglect the security of lives and property of the citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. HURIWA is warning that no amount of armed attacks of protesters by armed goons of this government would be able to stop the coming protests if bad governance continues at the pace we are witnessing in Nigeria.

HURIWA justified the actions of the citizens in Ekpoma in Edo state to demand accountability from government and to insists on implementable plan of action by both the inefficient and ineffective administration in Edo state and the federal government headed by the globetrotting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who once again jetted off to France, Europe, since two weeks now without handing over to an acting President even as kidnappers, Islamic terrorists and all genres of armed non-state actors have declared war against the citizens, killing, maiming and violently abducting unarmed citizens. HURIWA carpeted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for hypocritically ordering his security chiefs to go after the terrorists that invaded the Catholic boarding school in Niger state for the second time and killed over 40 persons and seized dozens of persons from the school and neighbourhood. HURIWA said the government barks like a toothless bulldog towards terrorists whereas these bloodthirsty killers are expanding their frontiers of attack on mostly soft targets of schools and markets.

HURIWA in a media release by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko noted that residents of Ekpoma, headquarters of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, on Saturday staged a protest against the spate of kidnappings in the community.

Ekpoma has in recent times witnessed repeated attacks by kidnappers, with residents being abducted from their homes, triggering fear and anger across the town.

The protest disrupted commercial activities, as students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, also joined the demonstration.

In their anger, the protesters pulled down campaign billboards mounted in the university town ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Reacting to the protest, Principal Security Officer to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Austin Eigbiremolen, assured residents that adequate security would be deployed to Ekpoma.

According to him, the kidnappers would be chased out of the area in no distant time.

Also commenting on the protest, Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Eno Ikoedem, dismissed reports of worsening insecurity in Ekpoma, saying the state Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, was already in the town.

Ikoedem disclosed that nine persons abducted on Friday were rescued unhurt following the deployment of the Eagle Combat Drone Unit to nearby forests, in collaboration with local hunters.

“In the heat of the rescue operation, the kidnappers’ camp was located through real-time aerial intelligence.

“The ground troops stormed the camp, forcing the kidnappers to flee and abandon two locally fabricated AK-49 rifles.

“The victims, including five children, were rescued unhurt. This landmark deployment underscores the transformative role of technology in modern policing and sets a new benchmark for operational enhancement in Edo State,” she said.

HURIWA however predicted a nationwide civil protests because it is a fact that the security challenges confronting citizens all over the country are becoming intractable even with the recent changes in the governance structures of the armed forces and the dismissal of the minister of defence and the appointment of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the new Minister. The reason is lack of good and charismatic leadership in the person of the number 1 citizen of Nigeria. HURIWA is therefore informing the government that Nigerians are losing their patience.

HURIWA restated her advocacy for political offices holders right from the top: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the governors of the 36 states of the Federation and the Minister of the FCT, to focus substantially on providing good governance, protect and safeguard the security of lives and property of the citizens as their primary constitutional duty and to leave aside the politics of the next election.

“The situation of insecurity has escalated beyond the imagination of the people of Nigeria. Never was any Nigerian in the last 30 years ever thinking that the security situation could degenerate abysmally the way it has reached at this moment. What makes the situation even the more unbearable and unacceptable, is the absence of good governance and the obvious collapse of the nation’s economy marked by high costs of living, joblessness especially of the most productive segment of Nigerians: the youths.

“These existential crises must be confronted headlong by the President who must and should forget the idea of seeking a second term by all means. The government must work to restore normalcy and stability before the President and others can even contemplate asking the voters who are the citizens to return them back to power. The very existence of Nigeria and the citizens are facing imminent threats of extinction.

“How can any sane person holding government positions be thinking of election instead of working to keep Nigeria and Nigerians alive? This is the time to warn the government that it is playing with fire because the people may have no other option but to take the bull by the horn by instantaneously deciding to protest on the streets and since he who is already on the ground fears no fall, the usual practice of unleashing armed security forces to quell peaceful protesters and to kill protesters wouldn’t work when the coming protests which would inevitably happen this year begins unless the government demonstrates a change of heart or METANOIA. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must observe the development unfolding in Iran with the nationwide protests against bad governance and the oppressive, repressive and tyrannical regime in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The warning to Iranian leaders not to kill protesters as made by President Donald John Trump should resonate in Nigeria and this President, Tinubu, who has on many occasions unleashed armed security forces to kill protesters must know that President Trump is interested in dealing with dictators who kill their citizens because they are staging civil protests.