South-West Govs Team Up Against ISWAP Bandits

South-West states are planning their responses following reports of bandits and fighters from ISWAP infiltrating 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.

Govs are consulting

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.

“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.

Ojo said “If the government is not working, will they (ISWAP members) be arrested? So, the government is assisting the security agencies to ensure that criminals are arrested and sent away from our state.

“The state is not a place for any criminal and that is why they were nabbed at the earliest stage.”

Allaying fears of possible infiltration by terrorists hiding in neighbouring states to Osun, Ojo, who demanded timely intelligence from the people, particularly residents of boundary communities, said security agencies were working hard to provide security for lives and properties.

“There is no need for them (residents of boundary communities) to panic. Security agencies are working round the clock. The residents should sleep with their two eyes closed without panicking. The DSS and other security agencies are working very hard to make sure they pick others that may be hiding,” Ojo said.

The government also said 84 illegal migrants were arrested while entering the state, adding that those arrested could not explain their mission.

Ojo said Immigration operatives intercepted the foreigners and, after checks, they were made to return to their country through Cross River State.

When asked if those reportedly arrested had been profiled to get further details about them, Ojo said, “Nobody was intercepted from the North. The immigration arrested about 84 migrants and they have been transported back to their country through Cross-River State.

The Corps Commander of Osun Amotekun Corps, Mr Adekunle Omoyele, said the agency had received full support from the state government, adding that the operatives were motivated and supported to fight insecurity.

“In Osun State, the governor is fulfilling his promises to Amotekun by providing substantial funding. He has purchased motorcycles for the corps, which have been distributed across the state commands.

“Additionally, he has promised to procure more patrol vehicles to complement the ones already in use. The corps members are satisfied with the current state of Osun Amotekun.

The OPC, in a statement by its President, Wasiu Afolabi, on Sunday urged all the six governors of the southwest to treat as a security emergency, the building of camps inside forests by insurgents and terrorists fleeing the North.

“These foreign Fulani terrorists have always said that after conquering the North, the South will be next. Now it is happening.

“But the OPC is ready to let these evil dreamers know that Yorubaland can never be conquered or occupied by foreign invaders. Let the six governors of Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti states invite us to deal with this menace today before it is too late.

“We have the men and capacity to confront these foreign invaders physically, militantly, technologically and spiritually. All we are demanding from South-West governors is the necessary invitation, equipment and support to do what is needed to wipe out this menace of foreign criminals,” Afolabi said.

Monarchs charge govs

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.

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.

Oba Ogunoye said, “The responsibility lies on the government to be more proactive in ensuring that the terrorists don’t have their ways in the South-West. The government should employ modern technology to fight criminals and root them out of their hideouts.

“On our part as traditional rulers, we will give our own support to the government, by giving proper information about criminality in our domain. We will put our ears on the ground and send useful information to the government for onward action.

“It is not a good thing for terrorists to wreak havoc in Nigeria but I believe if the political will and determination are there, the government will succeed in the fight against the criminal elements in our society.”

The Ajero of Ijero Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adewole, called on governments in the South-West states to rise to the occasion, calling on security agencies to make the states uncomfortable for bandits.

In a chat with The PUNCH, the traditional ruler said, “With the latest reports, we (traditional rulers) will intensify our appeal to the governments to put in more efforts on security.

“Security is very important. The infiltration of these people is not a good development and will remain a setback. We have to move swiftly to check it before it becomes another thing.

“As Obas, we would meet again and call the attention of the governments. If they are fleeing the North West to this part, their settlement here would be with adverse consequences.”

The monarch said that there had been earlier alarms and warnings from concerned individuals and groups, including the Yoruba Nation secession group that terrorists from the North were infiltrating the South-West.

He, however, said it was a good development that security agencies were apprehending some of the fleeing bandits.

“We thank God the security agencies are getting to arrest them, such should continue so that they can be flushed out of this place.

“Our security agencies and bodies should make our state uncomfortable for them. It should be like that in all other states of the southwest so that this part will be a no-go area for criminals,” he said.

CP promises security

The new Commissioner for Police in Ekiti State, Joseph Eribo, said on Tuesday that the state boundaries were well protected against infiltration of bandits and criminals.

Eribo lauded the government for the various security measures including Amotekun Corps, agro rangers and marshals put in place to ward off insecurity from the state.

In a chat with journalists in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, he said the police command under him would continue with crime mapping.

“I am being told the prevalent crime here and the flashpoints, the areas where they are happening. We will dominate our environment to ensure that citizens sleep with both eyes closed,” he said.

He added, “We have our men at the boundary with other adjoining states to check the influx of criminals into the state and whoever is caught will not be spared and the law will take its course.

“The state government has helped so much. I came here to know that so many agencies have been set up to checkmate these criminals from infiltrating Ekiti State.

“There are Agro Rangers, Amotekun Corps and the Marshals. We are going to add a committee that will encompass security agencies, like a joint task force including the civilians to checkmate not just the influx of the criminals but also the armed herders to prevent herders-farmers clash.”