Eben Enasco Reporting.

It has been a week of beatings and brutality in Edo State.

Entertainer Osagie Idieda, popularly known as MC Porcupine, was reportedly assaulted on Friday, October 23, while returning from a party in Benin City.

He was reportedly beaten up by a yet to be identified thugs.

This comes just days after the BEDC face-off, where workers demanding better welfare saw their Edo Chairman, Comrade William Uwumarogie, reportedly picked up by security operatives to an isolated space.

From the labour crisis to attacks on entertainers, the assault pattern is becoming serial in nature, while people-focused governance suffers and left to gather dust.

For Edo leaders, this is a true litmus test of leadership in times of crisis.

“Toxic” is the damning characterisation of Nigeria Leaders in Edo State from one highly placed Country and state after their incendiary betrayal of the people.

There has surely never been a greater anti-leadership act in Nigeria’s storied history than those in the corridor of power questioning the people who trusted them to unify the people and execute their policies on-field plan.

The Leaders here in Edo have proved this faith wrong at the precise moment they were required to step up and exude a defiant togetherness, but choose to harass, intimidate, brutalize and inflict bodily injuries on civic citizens

Nothing could be more dysfunctional than civil war between the leadership policies and what the people want, that may not get the right intervention.

The question is: How do we protect citizens and workers while still maintaining law and order?

In this part of the world, when thugs carry out attacks, the public often believes such missions are orchestrated by powerful interests within the corridors of power.

If those in the corridors of power can boldly face down cultism and demolish buildings linked to criminality in Uromi and Ewatto, why do thuggery and political intimidation still thrive?

Are thugs not members of another form of cultism? Should the law not catch up with them too? Or have we created two standards of justice — one for the common criminal, and another for those who carry out attacks with political backing?

If brutalizing Osagie Idieda, popularly known as MC Porcupine, is the answer to fixing deplorable roads, poor healthcare, falling standard of education, epileptic power supply and lack of potable water, then we must honestly say that we are not ready for governance.

The brutalization of an entertainer like MC Porcupine should be the least concern of any administration that genuinely wants to deliver dividends of democracy.

The people want roads, they want hospitals that work, schools that teach, light and water — not the beating of their own entertainers.

Can we now say the brutalization of an entertainer, is a dividend of democracy? When the time is right, can we list it as part of their achievements?

Although, the Edo State Police Command says it has launched a full-scale investigation following an attack on popular entertainer Osagie Idieda, popularly known as MC Porcupine, by unidentified hoodlums in Benin City, the question is when will the unidentified become identified?

In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, the command condemned the act of violence and reassured members of the public that the matter will be handled with utmost seriousness.

Reacting to the report, the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Patrick Daaor, ordered an immediate and thorough probe to uncover the circumstances surrounding the assault, identify the perpetrators, and ensure they face the full wrath of the law.

CP Daaor emphasized that acts of violence, assault, and unlawful attacks against persons or property will not be tolerated anywhere in Edo State, urging residents to maintain peace and mutual respect.

The police command further called on residents who may possess useful information regarding the attack to come forward and assist ongoing investigations, while advising the public to remain calm and allow law enforcement officers to conduct a comprehensive exercise.

Releasing statements is seen by the society as not good enough to win public trust.

The people believe that the police must be seen protecting the vulnerable, documenting threats to life, prosecuting offenders, and taking decisive action against criminal acts targeted at citizens.

That is how public trust is built and sustained.