Panic Spreads Across South-West Region as Attacks on Farmers, Commuters and Locals Intensify

Nigeria's South-West region is grappling with a surge in insecurity, leaving residents, community leaders, and security experts deeply concerned, with states like Ondo, Oyo, Osun, and Ekiti experiencing a notable rise in kidnappings, armed attacks, and killings.

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The region has witnessed a sharp increase in insecurity over the past two months, with 32 reported attacks across the affected states, resulting in the abduction or killing of innocent people by armed gunmen.

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In many rural communities and along major highways, residents now live in constant fear as criminal gangs exploit forests and remote areas to carry out violent operations, with farmers, travellers, and residents increasingly feeling unsafe in their own communities.

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The violence has not spared community leaders and traditional institutions, as even traditional rulers have been targeted and murdered by armed attackers, further deepening the sense of insecurity across the region.

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Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, has raised alarm over the increasing influx of terrorists and bandits into the South-West from the northern part of the country, warning that the region is gradually coming under pressure.

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The group has stated that criminal groups are moving into forests and border communities to establish operational bases for kidnappings and violent attacks, with the rising incidents of abduction and attacks on communities indicating a dangerous escalation of insecurity in the region.

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The worsening security situation has sparked public outrage in several communities, particularly in Ondo State, where residents have staged protests against the rising wave of kidnappings, with angry youths and community members blocking a major highway to protest repeated attacks and abductions in their area.

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Findings have shown that the situation has become alarming, especially in rural areas, where residents are living in fear of being attacked or kidnapped, with many abandoning their farmlands and travelling with caution.

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In Ondo State, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has vowed to tackle the menace, announcing measures like a nighttime motorcycle ban, with security forces arresting over 160 suspects, but concerns persist as ransom payments continue to fuel the crisis.

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The state's security agencies have been criticized for their response to the crisis, with some accusing them of being slow to react to distress calls, however, the police and Amotekun security outfit have reportedly made significant arrests, including 18 suspected kidnappers.

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Farmers from Akure North to the Akoko councils and parts of Owo Council Area now approach their farmlands with caution, with their wives and daughters abandoning farmwork for fear of being raped by rampaging herders and gunmen.

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Residents now conduct vigilante patrols, while travellers on highways journey with their eyes wide open, following a series of attacks, including the attack by armed bandits on the Divisional Police Station in Ipele, Owo council area of the state on December 31, 2025.

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The abduction of six church worshippers, including a pregnant woman and a mentally challenged man, by suspected herders at the Celestial Church in Uso, Owo Council Area of the state, has also been reported, with their abductors demanding N100 million ransom.

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The gruesome murder of the traditional ruler of Agamo community in Akure North council area of the state, Oba Kehinde Jacob Falodun, inside his palace by 10 gunmen, has sparked outrage and left the community in shock, with no arrest made by the security agencies since the incident occurred on February 18, this year.

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Suspected gunmen have also invaded Ogunti camp, a farming settlement in the Pelepe area of Akure South Council Area, and abducted a housewife, shot her husband, Adesida Daniel, and opened fire to scare residents, forcing many farmers to scamper for safety.

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The abduction and shooting of the council secretary of Okeluju Local Council Development Area, LCDA, under Akoko North West Council Area, Joseph Aladesuyi, and two others, at a poultry farm along Kajola Road, Ilu-Abo, Akure North Council Area, has sparked off a recent protest.

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Armed men have attacked workers at a site in the Eleyewo area of Akure, ambushing four men and attempting to abduct them, with two of the victims rescued by security operatives following a distress call, while the others escaped into the surrounding bush during the confusion.

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Another attack shook the Ilu-Abo community in Akure North Local Government Area, where armed men ambushed residents as they drove into their compound, firing several shots that punctured the tyres and fuel tank of a vehicle before abducting a primary school proprietress, Oladeinde Tomilola.

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The attack triggered outrage within the community, as youths and community leaders in anger blocked the Akure Airport–Owo Expressway, demanding stronger security presence and the establishment of a permanent military checkpoint in the area.

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A popular youth leader in Isua Akoko, Ojo Abbey, was abducted along the road linking Ibilo in Edo State to Isua Akoko, with his lifeless body discovered in a forest near Igarra, Edo State, by community youths and hunters who launched search operations.

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Angry youths and residents of three communities: Ilu Abo, Kajola and Owode took to the street and blocked the Akure-Owo highway with the corpses of two kidnapped victims, following a fresh kidnap attack in which two persons were shot dead and three others abducted by armed gunmen.

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The protest came barely 24 hours after the abduction of Joseph Aladesuyi, the council secretary and two others on his farm in Ilu-Abo community, near the Akure Airport, with the state government announcing the ban on the operations of motorcycles at night and prohibition of cart pushing in major areas among other security measures across the state.

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In Osun State, border communities, especially those around Osun/Kwara borders, are living in fear, as the fallout of insecurity in Kwara State has led to attacks by terrorists on villages that were once peaceful.

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Unknown gunmen invaded Ora-Igbomina community twice, kidnapping residents on two different occasions, with the kidnapped victim, a retired customs officer, Emmanuel Owolabi, released after three weeks and payment of ransom to his kidnappers.

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The state government has held several security meetings, where it was agreed that the border security should be strengthened, with Governor Ademola Adeleke stating that his administration would work with all security operatives to tighten security at border towns to curb the spreading insecurity in Kwara State from affecting Osun.

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In Oyo State, rising cases of insecurity, particularly kidnapping, have become a growing concern, with residents of several communities expressing fears over their safety, especially in areas like Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa, and some parts of Ogbomoso.

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Suspected criminal elements have reportedly taken advantage of isolated routes and forested areas to carry out abductions, with no fewer than 15 persons kidnapped in different parts of the state in the last one month alone.

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Security agencies, particularly the police, were able to rescue the victims through coordinated operations carried out across the affected areas, with community leaders calling for stronger security presence, especially in remote areas where kidnappers often operate.

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The Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security, CP Sunday Odukoya, has stated that the state government has intensified efforts to tackle the security challenges through improved collaboration with security agencies and community stakeholders.

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According to him, the government has continued to provide support to security agencies, strengthen intelligence gathering, and deploy additional personnel to vulnerable communities to prevent further incidents, with the recent rescue of kidnapped victims by the police demonstrating the effectiveness of the collaboration.

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The Commandant of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, Col. Olayinka Olayanju, has said that the corps has intensified surveillance operations in rural communities and forest areas where kidnappers are believed to operate, working closely with the police, the military, and local vigilante groups.

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In Ogun State, the recent increase in security challenges, particularly kidnapping for ransom and attacks on rural communities, has heightened fears among residents, farmers, and business operators, with several incidents reported across different parts of the state.

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One of the most widely reported incidents occurred on February 9, 2026, at the Alayo Fish Farm Cluster in the Ikangba, Agoro axis of Odogbolu Local Government Area, where armed gunmen stormed the farm cluster and abducted a fish farmer, his worker, and several women who had come to purchase fish.

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The kidnappers took the victims into a bush area located roughly two to three kilometres from the farm, holding them for about five days while negotiations for ransom were conducted with their families, eventually releasing the victims after a payment reportedly totaling N70 million.