IBADAN, NIGERIA — Growing insecurity across parts of the South-West zone has stirred deep anxiety among residents, community leaders, and socio-political organisations, with the troubling question on the lips of many now being: “Who will rescue Yoruba land?”
Yorubaland, which was widely regarded as one of the most peaceful regions in the country, is now increasingly confronted with violent attacks linked to bandits, terrorists, and kidnappers. Communities across the region have reported rising incidents of kidnapping, killings, and attacks on farmers, with forest reserves and remote villages, particularly in border areas linking the South-West with the North-Central region, becoming hideouts for armed groups .
Afenifere Laments ‘Near-Daily Loss of Lives’
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has cried out that banditry and terrorism are steadily eroding the sense of safety that once defined the region. Speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Jare Ajayi, the organisation lamented what it described as the “near-daily loss of lives” across several states, warning that the situation is steadily turning once peaceful communities into theatres of fear .
Ajayi painted a grim picture of the wave of attacks affecting several states:
· In Ondo State, incidents have included assaults on churches, police stations, residential homes, and travellers along major roads. One particularly disturbing case occurred in Akure, where a couple was attacked in front of their residence, with the husband shot while trying to prevent gunmen from abducting his wife .
· In the Oke-Ogun axis of Oyo State, farmers have been killed and travellers attacked along the Igbeti–Kisi road, raising fresh concerns about safety on rural routes .
· In Ekiti State, kidnappers reportedly abduct victims from their homes and later kill them while still demanding ransom from families .
Afenifere also revealed the barbaric nature of ransom demands, disclosing that kidnappers have demanded items such as N1.5 million, Indian hemp, cocaine, a synthetic drug known as ICE, and cartons of canned beer for the release of a corpse in their captivity. “The kidnappers even hilariously asked for virgins to be brought in exchange for four men that they had previously abducted,” Ajayi stated .
Sunday Igboho Offers to Raise 50,000 Men
Speaking on the insecurity, the agitator for Yoruba Nation, Sunday Adeyemi, also known as Sunday Igboho, assured that he could come to the rescue of his people, claiming he could raise about 50,000 men to join him in combing the forests .
In a viral video after his return to Nigeria, Igboho said: “My father asked me if I could get about 50,000 men to flush out the bandits, and I said yes, I can get up to 50,000 men to flush out the bandits. We will not trouble our Fulani and Hausa people, who have been living with us for ages. They are not violent. But the bloodthirsty bandits who are troubling my people will have no hiding place if I’m given the go-ahead to flush them out” .
Hunters Ready to Defend Yorubaland
The National President of Soludero Hunters Association, Nureni Akintola, expressed his readiness to assemble his numerous men to confront the bandits. Akintola said hunters know all the nooks and crannies of the forests in the South-West and urged kings and governors to mobilise them. “The little we have been able to do costs us so much. We spend our money. If we can be adequately mobilised, just give us some months. We will arrest these bandits and hand them over to law enforcement agents,” he stated .
Gani Adams Condemns Planned Attacks in Kwara
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has strongly condemned planned terrorist attacks targeting residents of Ira, Inaja, Aho, and other communities in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State. Reacting to a threat letter allegedly dropped at Ira market by faceless terrorists, Adams urged the Federal Government, Kwara State Government, and relevant security agencies to take proactive measures to protect the affected communities .
“Recent intelligence and credible reports at our disposal have revealed that terrorist groups are orchestrating coordinated attacks aimed at inflicting harm, spreading fear, and destabilising the peace of communities in parts of the Southwest,” Adams said .
YDV Calls for Focus on Kwara
A socio-political organisation, the Yoruba for Democratic Values (YDV), raised alarm that Kwara State has become the epicentre of banditry activities, with bandits and terrorist elements using it as a launching pad to infiltrate other parts of the South-West, including Ekiti, Ondo, and Oyo States. The group called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately redirect focus and military assets to Kwara State, warning: “If the Kwara corridor is not secured, the entire Yoruba homeland remains vulnerable to penetration and occupation by these criminal elements” .
Think Yoruba First Warns of ‘Systematic Terror-Style Violence’
A prominent regional advocacy body, Think Yoruba First, has raised a red flag over what it describes as a “systematic and deepening spread of terror-style violence” currently ravaging South-West Nigeria and extending into Yoruba-speaking border communities in Kogi and Kwara States. The group detailed a disturbing “insecurity arc” that now connects traditional South-West states with the Okun axis in Kogi West and border towns in Kwara .
Call for State Police and Regional Action
Afenifere believes dismantling these criminal networks requires more robust security reforms, including the establishment of state police. The organisation called for a multi-pronged strategy that includes cutting off funding channels, blocking access to weapons, raiding forests and remote hideouts used by bandits, and addressing corruption within security agencies .
Beyond federal action, Afenifere urged governors across the South-West to take urgent and coordinated measures to protect their citizens, including intensifying surveillance in vulnerable areas and dismantling criminal hideouts in forests and rural enclaves . Unless decisive steps are taken, the organisation warned, the creeping insecurity threatening farms, highways, and homes could redefine the region’s identity—and deepen the national crisis of safety and governance .
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