Fresh concerns have emerged over the worsening security situation in South West Nigeria, with regional groups, security experts and community leaders warning that banditry, kidnappings and suspected terrorist networks are spreading deeper into the region.
The alarm follows the recent abduction of pupils, teachers and residents during attacks in parts of Oyo State and growing fears that criminal groups are exploiting forests and poorly monitored border communities across the South West.
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, the Southwest Youths Forum said insecurity had moved beyond isolated incidents and was now threatening livelihoods, education and public safety across the region.
The group’s team lead, Olumide Fasubaa, warned that communities in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos states were increasingly vulnerable to attacks linked to kidnapping syndicates, armed bandits and criminal infiltrators.
“Banditry, kidnapping for ransom, farmer-herder clashes and the infiltration of criminal elements from other regions are no longer distant threats. They have crept into our forests, highways, farmlands, and communities,” Fasubaa said.
The concerns intensified after gunmen attacked schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, abducting dozens of pupils, students and teachers. The incident sparked fear across several rural communities, with reports that some residents had fled their homes over fears of fresh attacks.
Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, also warned that the region could face deeper security challenges if urgent preventive measures were not taken.
Security analysts and community leaders cited growing fears over the spread of “sleeper cells” — covert networks believed to quietly settle within communities while gathering intelligence and building operational structures before attacks occur.
President of the Yoruba Council Worldwide, Hassan Oladotun, said recent attacks showed that Yorubaland could no longer be considered immune from the insecurity that has plagued parts of northern Nigeria for years.
“It is obvious that the Amotekun outfit is either losing focus or it has been abandoned for bandits to have the audacity to move their activities into Yorubaland,” he said.
Several stakeholders called for stronger funding and restructuring of the regional security outfit, Amotekun, alongside closer collaboration with local hunters, vigilante groups and traditional institutions.
Chief Adebayo Amos Abiade, the Oluode of Ogbomoso South, said forests across the region were increasingly becoming safe havens for criminal gangs.
“These forests can no longer remain unmonitored or left without structured oversight,” he said, urging governments to strengthen surveillance, intelligence gathering and rapid response mechanisms.
Security experts also warned that conventional policing alone may no longer be sufficient to tackle emerging threats.
Public analyst Stephen Adewale said security operations must move beyond checkpoints and patrol vans to include early warning systems, forest surveillance, community intelligence and technology-driven monitoring.
“Prevention is cheaper, wiser and more humane than rescue after abduction,” he said.
The Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Okechukwu Nwagunma, argued that the latest attacks exposed serious gaps in intelligence sharing and emergency response coordination across South West states.
There were also renewed calls for state governments to map vulnerable border communities and intensify surveillance around schools and rural settlements.
In Ekiti State, retired Brigadier General Ebenezer Ogundana, special adviser on security matters to Governor Biodun Oyebanji, disclosed that authorities had already identified vulnerable schools and strategic locations for tighter monitoring.
He said security agencies in the state had resolved to prevent attacks similar to those recorded elsewhere in the country.
The growing anxiety has also revived memories of the June 2022 attack on St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which security analysts described as a turning point for insecurity in the South West.
Analysts say the latest developments highlight the urgent need for stronger regional cooperation, improved intelligence systems and sustained investment in community-based security architecture before criminal networks become more deeply rooted across the region.
