…. Nudges SW Governors as Yorubaland is now under siege

Following the coordinated attacks on three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on Friday, May 15, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has expressed dismay and charged state governments on what to do, just as it sympathised with families of the victims of the attacks.

The organisation’s feeling was contained in a press statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi.

According to reports, terrorists on motorbikes attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esinele; and L.A. Primary School, all in the Oriire local government area of Oyo State, on Friday, May 15th.

Reacting to the incident, the organisation noted, “Afenifere Leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, was saddened to hear this unfortunate incident which occurred the same week he marked his 100th year on earth.

He sympathised with the victims and their families just as he prayed for the quick recovery of those who were injured.

“Besides, he expressed the hope that a total stop would be put to the life-threatening insecurity situation in the country without further delay”, Ajayi stated.

It would be recalled that Ogun State Police Command on Tuesday, May 12, confirmed the abduction of three members of a family by suspected gunmen at Ipojo Golden Estate, Oke-Eri, in Ijebu Ode. On Wednesday last week, the Police and Vigilante operatives disrupted an alleged ₦10 million ransom collection operation by a suspected kidnapping gang in Otefon Village Forest, Atiba Local Government Area, Oyo State.

On April 18, heavily-armed gunmen invaded a church during an open-air crusade in Eda Oniyo, Ekiti State, killing a pastor and abducting several worshippers. Gunmen stormed Woro and Nuku in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State on February 3 and 4, killing many and abducting more than 170 people.

Also, on May 2, gunmen invaded a Police Mobile Force camp in Tenebo, Kaiama LGA, killing three police officers.

On the same day, a 60-year-old trader was kidnapped at the Jinarere area of Ibadan by four masked gunmen, just as one Alhaji Aleshinloye, a businessman, was kidnapped in Irawo, Atisbo local government area of Oyo State last week.

Earlier, a schoolgirl was kidnapped at the Challenge area of Ibadan, while a retired teacher was killed on his farm in Ago Area, Oke Ogun, Oyo State. On November 18, 2025, Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti LGA of Kwara State, was attacked by terrorists during a Tuesday evening service, killing three worshippers and abducting 38 others, including a pastor.

Four passengers were abducted along the Igbeti–Kisi Road, though they were later rescued by police, Amotekun and Operation Burst.

Stating that the list of terror acts keeps growing, Ajayi declared that the latest attacks reinforced growing fears that the terrorists appeared determined to overrun the South-West and, ultimately, the entire south.

The chilling reality thus detonated the earlier notion that the southwestern part of Nigeria was a safe haven, considered relatively insulated from extremist violence that is prevalent in some other parts of the country.

He added that what was happening now seemed to have been anticipated, given the action taken by the then South-West governors who, under the leadership of the late Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, established the South-West Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, on January 9, 2020. The initiative was designed to safeguard the six states of the region.

Afenifere commended the swift visit of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tunji Disu to Oriire arena of Friday’s kidnap and the inauguration of Police’s Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU) at Ibadan by Governor Makinde on Saturday, May 16, 2026 and expressed the hope that the initiatives will lead to the prevention of crimes, including banditry.

Ajayi submitted that the actions of southwest governors in recent times “do not suggest that they appreciate the enormity of the responsibility they shoulder concerning the security of their land.

He recalled that governors of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, Lagos and Oyo met in Ibadan on Monday, November 24, 2025, on what was dubbed a Security Summit.

The objective of the meeting was mainly on how to secure the southwest. In February, the Ogun State Government launched closed-circuit television (CCTV) hubs for security purposes, just as the Ondo and Ekiti States governments also announced various steps to stem insecurity in their respective states.

Earlier in the year, the Oyo State Government announced the purchase of two DA 42 MNG Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft at a cost of N7.7 billion.

Announcing the purchase, Governor Seyi Makinde said that the aircraft, when fully operational, will provide wide aerial coverage across Oyo State and extend surveillance to vulnerable corridors linking Oyo and Kwara states as areas often exploited by criminal elements due to the porosity of the borders.

“Were the aircraft deployed, what happened last week would have been nipped in the bud because the planes were reported to be fitted with sophisticated surveillance technology capable of identifying targets from both high and low altitudes, which allows for real-time intelligence gathering, improving rapid response and precision security operations.”

Afenifere wondered what had become of the resolutions by the six governors, the CCTV erected by the Ogun State governor, the surveillance aircraft purchased by the Oyo State government and related security steps announced by the Ondo State government at various times.

He recalled that there was a report of bandits sending notices in English and Yoruba of their planned attack to some communities in Oriire LG shortly after the killing of five forest guards at Oloka Village in January this year. Yet what happened in Oriire could not be prevented!

“In view of the fact that the primary duty of government is the security and welfare of the people, governments in the South-Western states of Nigeria must prove that they are alive to their constitutionally-assigned responsibilities. Everything must be done to ensure that no area in the region experiences an attack by kidnappers and bandits anymore.”

Disclosing that Yorubaland has been infiltrated, Ajayi called on the six governors in the region to make the security of their people their topmost priority.

“Every necessary step must be taken to ensure that terrorists do not have a place, not to talk of a foothold in Yorubaland – from Lagos up to Kogi, including Edo and Delta States.”

He added that while the federal government has the onerous duty of ensuring the security and welfare of Nigerians, governors have the sacred responsibility of using the resources at their disposal to secure their people and guarantee their welfare.