Press Release:

DISCLAIMER: PROLIFERATION OF ‘HUMAN RIGHTS’ BUSES IN EDO STATE AND EDOCSO CONCERNS.

The leadership and members of Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO) have been inundated with calls from members of the public of reports of unwholesome operations of commercial buses, mostly mini buses with the inscription ‘Human Rights Advocates’ or ‘Human Rights Defenders’ operating in Edo state.

These calls are coming against the backdrop of the fact that Edo Civil Society Organisations, has been a formidable network of civil rights groups across the state was the pioneer entity to kickstart the most efficient, coordinated and cheapest transport scheme with the aim of ameliorating the suffering of the masses, creating jobs and bridging a gap for the government. Our route has always been Sokponba-Ukhiri for as low as N250 and only recently we introduced Sapele Road-BIU for as low as N400 per trip respectively. The scheme was a child of necessity and not for profit making.

Our worries became fully confirmed when our former Coordinator General, Leftist Omobude Agho was called from a live radio programme on Independent Radio (ITV) on the 16th of August, 2023 to answer for the numerous allegations from members of the public against the operations of the buses with the inscription ‘Human Rights Advocates’ or ‘Human Rights Defenders’ as EDOCSO is the seemly group with such inscription on their buses.

We want to put it on record that, we have never had mini buses under our scheme since inauguration on the 11th day of August, 2018. The lowest vehicle capacity in our scheme are 14-seater-buses. We are not in the practice of collecting huge amount of money for registering buses under the scheme neither do we collect charges from the buses on daily basis.

It should be noted that, the proliferation of the buses with the inscription ‘Human Rights Advocates’ or ‘Human Rights Defenders’ became noticeable when Edo state government rolled out plans to ensure every commercial vehicle in the state key into the colour code programme for the purpose of data collation and public security. This brought to the fore faceless and baseless individuals who have embarked on the business of registering vehicles indiscriminately with the inscription ‘Human Rights Advocates’ or ‘Human Rights Defenders’ and collecting huge amount of money in order not to comply with the colour code processes.

We are calling on the state government and particularly the Edo State Transport Authority to quickly address the impending danger posed by this trend. The operations of groups must be streamlined for easy management and accountability for public safety. Ever since EDOCSO embarked on the provision of cheap and highly coordinated transportation to Edo people, we have enjoyed cordial collaboration with government agencies and there have never been any negative reports from members of the public or government. We have a laborious screening process and a robust database alongside with painstaking and rigorous training for our drivers.

Leftist Aliyu Umweni
Interim Public Relations Officer
Edo Civil Society Organisations
EDOCSO.

MASSES HOUSE: 6B, Obakhavbaye Street Opposite Spirit And Life Bible Church Off Oba Market Road,
Benin City,
Edo State,
Nigeria.

Website: www.edocso.org

Email: Info@edocso.org

Twitter: @Alutaedocso

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edocivilsocietyorganisations?mibextid=ZbWKwL