States in the South-West region are strategising in response to the reported influx of bandits and fighters from the Islamic State’s West Africa Province into some of the region’s forests.
The PUNCH reported that Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, warned last week that bandits fleeing military operations in the North-West were seeking refuge in the state.
Raising the concern at the 2025 annual inter-faith service for workers held at the Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, Makinde said, “During a security briefing this morning, I learnt that some bad elements from the North-West are relocating here due to military heat in their zones. But we will find and deal with them.”
The Ogun State government also said it had contacted relevant security agencies, including the military and the police.
The Department of State Services recently arrested 10 suspected members of ISWAP in Ilesa, Osun State.
The arrest came to public knowledge when the DSS sought an order of a Federal High Court in Abuja to detain the suspects for 60 days, an order Justice Emeka Nwite granted last week Friday.
In the same vein, the Oodua People’s Congress urged all the six governors of the South-West to treat as a security emergency the building of camps inside Yoruba land forests by insurgents and terrorists fleeing the North, as it offered to help security agencies tackle the menace.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, noted that he is consulting with his counterparts in Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti states.
His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, said the governor, who is also the chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, receives daily intelligence on the state of security in the region.
Akosile said the governor was prepared to handle security matters in the region, adding that he was well briefed on the issue.
“There is no empirical evidence that there are bandits in the South-West but on matters of security, you can never be over-prepared.
“The governor is receiving intelligence reports on different matters and he is in consultation with other governors from the South-West on how best to tackle the growing concern over security issues in the region,” Akosile told our correspondent in an interview.
“If you recall the inaugural meeting of the South-West Governors Forum, one of the major topics raised at the meeting was the security of the region, so they’ve been meeting on some of the ways to checkmate insecurity in the South-West.
Basically, they’re studying the situation and there will be something done at the end of the day,” he added.
Speaking on the security situation, the Oyo State government assured residents that he would leave no stone unturned to ensure the safety of everyone in the state.
The government, during a press briefing after the state’s joint security council meeting on Tuesday, said all hands were on deck to fish out the bandits and use the instrumentality of the law to deal with them.
The Special Adviser on Security to Oyo State Governor, Fatai Owoseni, in a statement by the Special Adviser (Media) to Oyo State Governor, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, urged the people to go about their lawful activities without any fear.
Owoseni said with the robust synergy among the security agencies in the state, the bandits and other criminal elements had nowhere to hide.
He also confirmed that Oyo was collaborating with neighbouring states in the region to secure its borders and guard against the influx of bandits.
He noted that to strengthen the security network in the state, the council would hold expanded meetings that would incorporate local government chairmen as well as traditional rulers.
essence of this is to ensure that we take security to the grassroots. The local government administration is the third tier of government and is the closest to the people.
“In the same vein, traditional rulers are close to the people and know most people in their domains.
“By integrating them into the security network, we are taking security to the grassroots and carrying everyone along. Security is everybody’s business and we all have a role to play in ensuring that our state is safe from the antics of bandits and other criminal elements,” Owoseni said.
He said that the council also discussed decongesting correctional centres, adding that the state would invoke its power of prerogative of mercy to set free some of the inmates.
Also, the Osun State government said it was providing necessary support for security agencies to make the state unsafe for suspected terrorists and other criminals.
It assured residents that efforts were being geared towards keeping the state safe.
Speaking in an exclusive chat with The PUNCH, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Mr Samuel Ojo, disclosed that Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration’s support for security agencies led to the arrest of suspected ISWAP members in their attempt to establish the group in Osun.
Traditional rulers in the southwest have called for proactive steps by the governors and security agencies, advocating that the traditional institutions be involved in efforts to rid the region of infiltrating extremists.
The Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, whose domain is located at the Ekiti and Kwara boundary with Osun, said traditional rulers must impress it on their subjects to be vigilant.
“The traditional institution is extremely important when it comes to security at Oke-Ila Orangun and Ifedayo Local Government Area axis. It is crucial because it leads to Ekiti and Kwara states, and security matters are always capital intensive.
“We are alive to our responsibility, we just want the government to know the importance of that area. Without security, we cannot talk about development.
“We are vigilant and we tell our people to also be vigilant because internal vigilance is the greatest form of security. We are trying to make it open, and at the same time, participatory, so that people will know the importance of being alive to their responsibilities and have eagle-eye and monitor the movement of people 24 hours a day,” Oba Abolarin said.
The Akarigbo and paramount ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, said traditional rulers were worried about the reported influx of bandits into the southwest.
Oba Ajayi said it would be wise for the head of each community to be more proactive and take security more seriously than ever before.
“We are alarmed and worried, we are very well concerned over this reported influx of bandits. Yes, we know who the constitutional chief security officer is, but in reality, we also know that the traditional rulers are the chief security of their respective domains.
“So, it will be wise for each domain to also do something and be more proactive about their security beyond the police and even the Amotekun. We have our own special arrangements that work with other security agencies.
“We have that intelligence as well but we are not sleeping over it. The word is eternal vigilance. We can’t afford another insurgency.
“That brings up the issue of state policing. It is part of what we should do to fight crime to a standstill in the country,” he said.
The Olowo of Owo Kingdom, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, expressed concern over the development, promising that traditional rulers would give their support to the government in taming the criminals.
