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The activities of terrorist groups are no doubt a big source of worry for both the government and citizens. The groups had previously limited their activities to the Northwest and the Northeast, but buoyed by their success in the two zones, they moved to the North Central, where they have been wreaking havoc. The matter assumed a more worrisome dimension with a secret memo released by the secret police to the effect that terrorist groups could make inroads into the Southwest. GBENGA ADERANTI reports on how the new threat could be arrested.
Until the deadly attack on the Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on June 5, 2022, wherein 41 worshippers lost their lives, and many others were badly injured, few people had imagined that the Southwest region could fall under the radar of terrorist groups that had been threatening some parts of the country.
But the attack, combined with the recent warning of clear and present danger by the Department of State Services, has made nonsense of that belief.
On Tuesday, October 21, the DSS had warned of a plot by the Islamic State West Africa Province to attack Ondo and Kogi states, sending shock waves through the spines of not only the residents of Ondo but also other states in the Southwest.
Before then, the only semblance of the threat in the Southwest had been the activities of criminally minded herdsmen in various communities in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State. The fierce resistance by Yoruba Nation agitators led by Chief Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a. Sunday Igboho, the activities of the South West Security Network also known as the Amotekun Corps as well as the activities of local hunters, however, nipped the threat in the bud.
But while the inhabitants of Oyo communities may be enjoying respite, the same cannot be said of residents of Ondo communities. A letter by the secret police titled, ‘Imminent Attacks in Ondo State by Members of ISWAP’, has thrown many communities in the Southwest into anxiety.
In a confidential letter addressed to the Commander of the 32 Artillery Brigade, Akure, the secret police warned of “imminent attacks” by ISWAP terrorists and urged heightened surveillance and security deployment across vulnerable areas.
The letter signed by H. I. Kana on behalf of the State Director of Security, intelligence, confirmed plans by members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) to carry out coordinated attacks on communities in Ondo and Kogi states any time soon.
The letter read in part: “It was further gathered that the group has commenced surveillance on potential soft targets in the above-mentioned locations. Consequently, there is a need to scale up the level of security alertness in the various communities to forestall any untoward situation.”
Residents of Owo, Ondo State, were thrown into panic recently after a loud explosion occurred near a commercial bank in Ondo town. A week before the incident, panic also spread in the Akungba-Akoko community following rumours that Boko Haram members had invaded the area.
However, the Students’ Union Government of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), dismissed the claims as false and capable of causing unnecessary fear among students and residents.
Cause for concern
Reacting to the warning, a security expert, Jackson Lekan Ojo, warned that the people of the Southwest have every cause to feel concerned because of the activities of the terrorists in the Northwest and Northeast.
He explained that the only way to invade the Southwest would be through the territorial boundaries between the North Central and the Southwest. Therefore, because both Kogi and Kwara states share boundaries with the Southwest, there is a genuine reason to be apprehensive.
Aware of the danger this could pose, he averred that “once these people can penetrate the Southwest from those areas, the invasion will continue to destabilise the entire region.”
He drew the attention of The Nation to the unprecedented criminality in the North Central and North East and how it has crippled both the economic activities and vehicular movements, warning that everything should be done to stop such from spreading to the Southwest.
“What is happening today in some parts of the North Central, the Northwest and the Northeast, if it penetrates the Southwest, Nigeria is finished. They will overrun this country easily,” the security expert warned.
As of today, Nigeria ranks 6th on the 2025 Global Terrorism Index and accounted for 6% of global terrorism deaths in 2023. Since 2007, more than 11,000 people have been killed, with millions more displaced.
According to him, the only alternative area to penetrate the Southwest would have been through international boundaries, that is Benin Republic, which would be difficult, hence the decision to penetrate through Kogi and Kwara states.
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Already, some states like Osun are taking security measures. The state government was said to have put measures in place to prevent the infiltration of the boundary communities long before the alarm by the DSS was raised.
It will be recalled that the state had in the past battled killer herdsmen in some of its communities, especially Osun North, where the activities of criminal herdsmen were rife. The then Commandant of the Amotekun Corps in the state, Amitolu Shittu, had a running battle with these criminals and recorded a relative success.
Ojo told The Nation that rather than raising the alarm or sending warnings, the DSS, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) or Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) should break the door down and take the fight to the terrorists.
“They should gather intelligence and synergise with other security agencies to overrun the terrorists,” he said, warning that raising the alarm would give the terrorists ample opportunity to change strategies.
“They (terrorists) may just lie low for a short period, and by the time there is no more attention on them, they will massively carry out their attack,” Ojo warned.
While many have argued that Amotekun would play a vital role in dislodging the terrorists, considering the role they played in dislodging the criminal herders that once troubled some parts of the zone, Ojo warned that the outfit needs to do more to confront the terrorists.
He argued that in other parts of the country where terrorists are making life difficult for the residents, they too have a security outfit that is akin to Amotekun, yet have not been able to defeat the terrorists.
“We should not deceive ourselves. What they call the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in the Northwest and the Northeast is even more effective compared with Amotekun.
“What kind of arms or ammunition does the Amotekun corps bear? If somebody is bearing a pump action, and a Dane gun , maybe with only a maximum of 12 rounds, and you are expecting him to face somebody carrying the type of arms some of the terrorists are carrying?’ he wondered.
To validate his claim, he drew the attention of The Nation to a peace meeting held recently with one of the leaders of the terrorists.
He said: “During the meeting, one of the leaders of the terrorists was carrying a magazine. Only one person had more than 13 magazines, each of which contained 36 rounds.
“Aside from that, they had a General Purpose Machine Gun, and you are expecting someone who has a Dane gun or pump action to go and confront them?
“Two hundred people with pump action cannot confront only two people with an AK-47. One person carrying an AK-47 has superior power.”
Considering the active role Sunday Igboho played in dismantling kidnappers and criminal herders in Oyo communities, Ojo said he would have recommended him to join forces with security agents, but the Yoruba nation agitator has been stigmatised.
He explained that, unlike the civilian JTF in the Northeast, the perception many have about Sunday Igboho is that of a secessionist.
“So it won’t be legally convenient for people like us to call on him. But we know that apart from the stigmatisation in certain areas, Sunday Igboho would have been more effective,” he said.
Politics as threat to Southwest security
The Nation gathered that, unlike the time when the late Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu held sway as the governor of Ondo State and the Amotekun Corps was strong and united, a lot of things have changed. It is now more or less every state for itself.
Ojo also expressed worries that, unlike before, when Amotekun was united and shared information, state governors in the region belong to different parties; a situation he said exposes the region to ISWAP and other criminal elements.
“We don’t have a centralised Amotekun corps at the moment. Kudos to the late former governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Akeredolu. During his time, there was a central Amotekun in Yorubaland.
“There is no synergy now. Rather, what we have is sectional Amotekun. There is no uniformity in their information, there is no uniformity in arm and ammunition procurement, there’s no uniformity in training, and there is no uniformity in their remuneration.”
He warned that the politicisation of Amoteku is inimical to the security of the Southwest, and until the governors come together, forget their political differences, as a united Oodua children, “they cannot achieve anything.”
He expressed concerns about the ISWAP threat and the lackadaisical attitude of the leadership in the Southwest, stressing the need for a security summit in the region.
“I pray this threat does not catch them unaware. If it spreads to Lagos, the economic and commercial nerve of this country would boomerang on the entire country,” Ojo warned.
Confronting ISWAP threat
Baring his thoughts on the ISWAP threat, the traditional ruler of Ode Ule, Ogun State, Oba (Dr.) Adedayo Olusina Adekoya, dismissed the threat, saying it will come and go like others.
Adekoya, a monarch cum medical doctor, believes that reinforcing and fully equipping the Àmọ̀tẹ́kùn would be a masterstroke to take care of “the West”
He said: “I do not call it Southwest because we are not in the South at all, geographically. One of the first things to do is to psychologically remove ourselves from that very wrong classification. Once we see ourselves as the West, we will not be south to any North, and anyone thinking of invading the South should face the South and not the West.”
He was also of the opinion that newly constituted forest guards could be a solution. More so if it is funded and controlled by the states and not the Federal Government, which would only give it support and recognition as a fully armed security and military tool of the states.
While many may not agree with him, he advised the government to merge indigenous with contemporary, by making use of bees and ants, to fight the criminals via African science.
He said: “The indigenous technology of fighting invasion must be developed for broader use. The magun tool used to beat animal invasions should be used against terrorists. These are secret weapons that need development.
“There are also the methods of the “unseen clubber” that clubs an unwanted intruder to death.
“Also, you cannot enter a guarded territory to do evil and leave. Immediately, your intentions are to do that, you just go round and round until you are caught.”
According to the monarch, what is required is a mindful research for applicability on a broader deployment.
“These are very cost-effective and efficient methods leading to efficient security coverage for the peaceful conduct of a vibrant economy,” Adekoya said.
Terrorists thrive on propaganda
Speaking to The Nation on how to confront the ISWAP threat, former Commandant of the Amotekun corps in Osun State, Comrade Amitolu Shittu, recalled that when he was leading the Amotekun corps in Osun some years back, he had a running battle with suspected herders who were terrorising Osun at a time, especially the Ijesha axis, and was able to subdue the terrorists.
Commending President Bola Tinubu on the fight against terrorism, he also joined others who have expressed a sort of concern over the threat, but insisted that the problem of terrorism is surmountable if proper measures are put in place.
Recalling the activities of criminal herders in Osun, which are akin to those of the ISWAP, Amitolu said that while he was the Commander of Amotekun in Osun, he used native intelligence to fight criminality in the state.
Amitolu explained that the threat could, after all, be politically motivated.
“All they want to do is to create an artificial problem, so that the president can lose the election. They know he is well-versed in politics. The only way they can deal with him is just to create insecurity, especially in the Southwest.”
The former Osun Amotekun commander, while recognising the ISWAP threat, said the group dwells on propaganda to create fear in people.
“They use propaganda. They always create fear in the minds of the people. They are using sophisticated weapons that the military and police don’t have. That in your mind, to confront them will be difficult for them. Although they have access to sophisticated weapons, they are not as lethal as they claim.
“They live on propaganda and the spreading of false information. Creating fear has been their strategy.
“Part of the strategy ISWAP is using is disseminating fake information, propaganda, and they launch themselves into the minds of our security operatives, ensuring that some within our security operatives will propagate their own philosophy, and what they are not, they help them to say it.”
Substantiating the claim, he drew the attention of the reporter to a video that was trending. “How did the information get to the public? If criminals want to divert attention, there is nothing they cannot do.
“How did their video find its way into our space? As long as Nigerians continue to help in spreading the activities of the terrorist group, they will be emboldened to continue,” he said.
He enjoined Nigerians to stop circulating the videos of the activities of these terrorist groups.
“Probably, the operations of the terrorist group in Nigeria could have been minimised; those who are responsible for tracking these videos are not doing what they are supposed to do.
“Aside from fake information being dished out by ISWAP, Amitolu also disclosed that the media should play down the reportage of terrorist groups like ISWAP.
“If ISWAP is under-reported, the press gives them too much attention, they hype their activities in the press, and this makes them think they are more than they are.”
He described ISWAP as cowards and their activities as ungodly.
He also appealed to bloggers to downplay the activities of terrorists, saying, “They are cowards; they are not bold enough to come out. Why are we giving them undue publicity?”
He said that after succeeding in creating fear, the terrorists attack and run back.
Amitolu agrees with Ojo that the problem within Amotekun in the Southwest would make it difficult to confront ISWAP, adding that Amotekun has a role to play in the fight against ISWAP. Still, they have to work as a team.
“There is a need for the governors to come together, forgetting their interests. They should allow the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission to take charge.”
While many have cast doubt on the ability of the Amotekun to withstand the terrorists with their weapons, Amitolu said that beyond arms and ammunition, African science would play a big role in stopping the terrorists.
Southwest governors to the rescue
However, as a means of strengthening security in the Southwest, six governors of the region, Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti) and Ademola Adeleke (Osun), who was represented by his deputy, Kola Adewusi, converged on the Oyo State Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, for a crucial discussion on security, economic development and regional integration.
At the end of the meeting, the governors unanimously agreed to jointly tackle insecurity in the area before it develops into a multi-headed monster.
The governors resolved to set up a joint regional security fund and a security intelligence sharing communication platform while also reinvigorating forest surveillance across the six states.
Other measures agreed upon include the monitoring and regulation of inter-state migration and effective action against illegal mining activities.
The challenge, therefore, is whether actions like this would effectively check insecurity. Many have expressed pessimism, insisting that the meeting was a motion without movement.
For instance, outfits like Amotekun cannot bear weapons larger than a pump-action rifle, “so how will they confront a bandit armed with an AK-47?” a security expert asked.
Besides that, the Inspector General of Police, Police Kayode Egbetokun, has always expressed his opposition to the idea of state police.
Whether the current measure being put in place will yield any fruit, Time will tell.