A human rights activist based in Benin, Leftist Omobude Agho, has reportedly been kidnapped by men dressed in Department of State Services (DSS) uniforms.

According to The Nation, Agho, who leads the Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSOs), was taken from his home in the Medical Stores area of Benin, Egor Local Government, at 2 a.m. on Friday, June 14.

A family member, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the gunmen arrived at Agho’s house in four vehicles. They surrounded the residence and took him away without any prior warning.

The family member mentioned that the dramatic nature of the abduction caused Agho’s neighbors and other local residents to flee in fear.

Former EDOCSOs spokesman, Osazee Edigin, posted on social media, comparing the scene to the arrest of a dangerous bandit leader. He speculated that DSS operatives might be involved, suggesting that only time will reveal the truth about the DSS’s role in this incident.

“As at the moment of the civil society movement still trying to unravel what level of criminal act that he might have committed, the DSS didn’t give reason for such a huge mobilization of men and resources for the arrest of a human rights activist who could have just been invited.”