The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has declared a state of security emergency across all Yoruba-speaking states, issuing an urgent call to governors in the Southwest, Kwara, and Kogi to immediately activate emergency protocols following the massacre of over 100 residents in Woro and Nuku communities, Kaiama Local Government Area, Kwara State.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday by the Chairman of the Dr. Frederick Fasehun-led OPC Caretaker Committee, Kazeem Lawal, the pan-Yoruba group described the February 5 attack as a “heartbreaking and provocative” act of jihadist terrorism aimed at establishing a permanent militant foothold in Yoruba territory.
“We Will Not Ask for Permission to Live”
Lawal condemned what he called the Federal Government’s policy of “pampering terrorists” while prosecuting separatist leaders who dared to defend their people. He drew direct parallels to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, whose repeated warnings of a coordinated “Fulanisation agenda” were once widely dismissed.
“What Kanu spoke of years ago is no longer theory. It is now a bloody reality at the doorstep of the Southwest. The same agenda he was jailed for warning against is now consuming Yoruba communities,” Lawal said.
He insisted that the era of politicising security was over: “Governors of the 10 Yoruba-speaking states must immediately declare a state of emergency on security. This is no longer about politics. This is about survival. These rampaging terrorists are not spirits, they they are flesh and blood. Hunt them down, arrest them, prosecute them, and execute them.”
Allegations of a Plot Against Tinubu
The OPC further alleged that the escalating violence in Kwara and along the Southwest corridor is a “deliberate ploy” by non-state actors to destabilise President Bola Tinubu’s home base and undermine his administration.
“By turning the President’s own region into a war zone, these forces are sending a message: no part of Nigeria is safe unless you play by their rules. But we have news for them, the Southwest will not be cowed,” Lawal added.
Security Forces on Edge
The declaration comes just days after the Department of State Services (DSS) issued an urgent intelligence alert warning of a planned attack on Gbabe community in Baruten Local Government Area, Kwara State, by armed men suspected to be Mamuda elements operating around Kainji Lake National Park.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has since convened an emergency security council meeting, while Kogi Governor Usman Ododo and Ekiti Governor Biodun Oyebanji visited survivors of the Woro attack receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ilorin.
However, residents of Baruten LGA remain anxious, with many accusing the government of responding only after bodies have been recovered.
The Road Ahead
The OPC’s declaration signals a significant shift in the region’s response to persistent insecurity. With confidence in federal and state governments waning, the group’s ultimatum places enormous pressure on South-West governors to act decisively, or risk losing the trust of the people they were elected to protect.
As one community leader in the affected axis told reporters: “We have cried, we have reported, we have buried our dead. Now, we either defend ourselves or perish.”
