Growing Insecurity in South-West Nigeria and the Expansion of Terror-Style Violence into Yoruba Communities (Including Kogi and Kwara)
Issued jointly by Think Yoruba First (TYF) & TYF Political Action Committee (TYF PAC)
By Ademola Adekusibe
Date: January 7, 2026
Think Yoruba First (TYF) and the TYF Political Action Committee (TYF PAC) express deep concern over the accelerating insecurity across South-West Nigeria and the expanding terror-style violence targeting Yoruba-speaking communities, now extending into Kogi West (Okun axis) and parts of Kwara State.
The attacks, including today’s killings at Oyo Park, confirm what communities have warned for months: South-West Nigeria is under sustained pressure from organized armed groups exploiting forests, porous boundaries, weak inter-state coordination, and inadequate intelligence sharing. What began as sporadic criminality has now evolved into systematic, terror-style operations targeting travellers, worshippers, farmers, local security responders, and public spaces.
This pattern threatens commerce, education, agriculture, freedom of movement, and social life. If left unchecked, it risks normalizing fear as a permanent condition for our people.
Recent terror-linked incidents affecting the South-West and Yoruba border communities include:
• Oyo State: Killings at Oyo Park today, a public space attack highlighting the audacity and reach of these violent actors.
• Ondo State (Akoko axis): Abduction of travellers and killing of a commercial driver along boundary corridors linking Ondo and Kogi.
• Ondo–Ekiti border routes: Repeated mass abductions along forest-adjacent highways used daily by commuters and traders.
• Kogi State (Kogi West / Okun communities): Attacks on communities and worship centres, including abductions during church services.
• Kwara State: Deadly assaults on local security personnel and attacks on worshippers in border towns.
These incidents form a continuous insecurity arc across forests and boundary corridors connecting Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, and Lagos to Kogi West and Kwara. They indicate clear signs of coordination, logistics, and intelligence by the perpetrators.
Our charge to South-West Governors
TYF and TYF PAC call on the Governors of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti to treat this crisis as a regional emergency demanding joint action, not fragmented responses. We demand the immediate implementation of a South-West Joint Security Architecture, including:
1. Regional Intelligence Fusion and Operations Centre: A permanent, 24/7 intelligence hub linking Amotekun, Police, DSS, NSCDC, Immigration, and vetted community intelligence, focused on predictive analysis, not post-incident reactions.
2. Forest and Boundary Security Command: Joint task forces with mapped patrol sectors across forests and boundary corridors, especially Ondo–Kogi, Ekiti–Kogi, Oyo–Kwara, and Ogun border routes.
3. Amotekun Standardization and Upgrade: Unified training, rules of engagement, encrypted communications, mobility assets, and rapid-response units. Amotekun must be operationally effective, not symbolic.
4. Inter-State Road Security Program: Permanent patrols and checkpoints on high-risk stretches, immediate repairs of bad roads that facilitate ambushes, and emergency response points for travellers.
5. Community Early-Warning and Informant Protection: Structured local security committees, anonymous reporting channels, and strong protection for informants to prevent reprisals.
6. Victim Support and Ransom-Disruption: Coordinated trauma care for victims and families alongside financial intelligence to trace ransom flows and dismantle kidnapping economies.
Our charge to the Federal Government of Nigeria
Internal security is a constitutional responsibility of the Federal Government. TYF and TYF PAC demand:
1. A clear national forest-terrain security doctrine with sustained deployments, aerial surveillance where necessary, and camp-clearing operations, not episodic reactions after tragedies.
2. Special courts and fast-track prosecution for kidnapping and terror-linked offences, backed by witness protection to secure convictions.
3. Real reinforcement of policing capacity in the South-West and Yoruba border LGAs, including investigators, forensics, mobility, and rapid operational approvals.
4. Arms interdiction and corridor control targeting illicit weapons, supply routes, and logistics networks feeding these groups.
5. Public accountability and transparency through regular, credible briefings on arrests, prosecutions, rescues, and dismantled camps.
Our position
TYF and TYF PAC reject the creeping normalization of terror-style violence in Yoruba land. Worshippers must not be abducted in churches. Travellers must not be hunted on highways. Public spaces such as Oyo Park must never become killing fields.
South-West Nigeria, together with Yoruba communities in Kogi and Kwara, must not be allowed to slide into sustained insecurity due to official complacency or fragmented responses. We call on citizens to remain vigilant and cooperate with credible security efforts. Above all, government must lead with coordination, competence, and measurable results.
Signed,
Think Yoruba First (TYF)
Dr. Bukola Adeniji
