OPEN LETTER TO THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF EDO STATE HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR GODWIN N OBASEKI ,

November 20, 2020
His Excellency,
Godwin .N. Obaseki
The Executive Governor,
Edo state.

Dear Sir,
BENIN-AUCHI EXPRESSWAY : A DEATH TRAP
My frail heart continues to break and my eyes reduced to tears with every passing day as tens of hundreds Edolite continue to wallow in an unimaginable life of hopelessness, helplessness and haplessness; thousands of them have long forgotten the meaning of ‘happiness’, innumerable died and continue to die of the unending physical and emotional trauma and several other family ties of the victims torn apart basically due to incessant cases of abductions.

Never in the history of Edo state has such rising wave of the menacing social monster of kidnapping been witnessed, so prevalent that the media outlets have begun to treat reportage on it with levity so worse that it no longer makes a hot breaking news as it used to be.

The problem therefore continues to be a commonplace, with cases of wanton abductions along Benin-Auchi Expressway becoming widespread like a wildfire. Yet, a plethora of cases would go underreported or unreported at all. Everyone’s life is at stake (insecurity to one is insecurity to all) with the exception of those few sacred cows who ply the deplorably dreaded roads in heavily armed convoys.
Why must we therefore, remain silent and feign ignorance of this wholesale calamity? Why can we not battle and combat harder until the criminal underworld and their masterminds are rooted out and prosecuted accordingly? How much longer should we continue to bow to the wanton sacrilege meted out by these marauding villains called kidnappers? Mr State Government has to bring forth the most effective and lasting solutions to these societal ills before the situation degenerates into an intractable phase. The time is now, and it is now or never for the State Government to pursue the much needed counter-kidnapping operation!! Or we will be forced to barricade the Benin-Auchi Expressway which will prevent movement but save life’s

NIDSUG, have vociferously condemned the diabolic act and demand same from the state government in addition to the compelling needs to swiftly set the necessary machineries to motion in bringing the savages to their heels.
From the look of things, ruthless kidnapping is assuming not only endemic shape, but also becoming a burgeoning lucrative and money-spinning venture with many invisible profiteers. Despite all the military operations and other security agencies’ patrols going on, the menacing social monster keeps flourishing with every single minute that elapses – the good job these security agencies are doing is not good enough and thus the need to work harder and make new strategies by injecting more financial and technical commitment into the operation and forging a robust media-security synergy and efficient mode of information handling and reporting.

And, may I have the honour to remind his excellency that over 23 Ambrose Alli University,Ekpoma Student has since been kidnapped and over 75Million paid as Ransome and the number one duty of a state governor is to protect the live and property of its citizen– I feel enlivened any time I remember this due to the fact that I never doubt the Governors sincerity and integrity. We still hold on to the hope instilled on you.

On the final note, my prayer goes to the victims, family and all those afflicted by the menace of abduction, we therefore implore your excellency sir, to bring together all the necessary tools to rescue Edo state in captivity and to fish out all perpetrators and bring them to book, so as to reap what they sow and as a deterrent as well.

________________________
Thompson Jotham
NIDSUG EDO STATE PRO