By Abiodun Alao
Heavily armed terrorists are relocating from the North West to Oyo state, the State Governor, Seyi Makinde has said.
The Governor said he was disturbed that less than two kilometers where he spent his holiday in a resort area in Oyo State, he discovered that the terrorist has already established a camp in the area.
Makinde said his state is currently facing challenges from terrorist migration.
He said the renewed security challenges from bandits who are entering the state from the North West states pose grave danger to the region.
He spoke in Ibadan at the annual interfaith service to mark the New Year.
The event was held at the Governor’s Office.
The North West of Sokoto and Kebbi States have seen resurgence of armed banditry in recent years. The new terrorist group, Lakurawa is also located in the two states.
There is a vast land that stretches between the North West and the South West bordering Oyo State.
A security expert who does not wish to be named told Irohinoodua that the terrorists have already established their camps in Ogun and Oyo States adding that some of them source their arms through the over 4000km River Niger that flows from Guinea through several countries including Nigeria into the Niger Delta estuary.
“It’s a major threat against the entire South West. The Oyo State Governor and the entire South West leadership are short-sighted. They underestimate the enormity of the problem at hand.”
He said the terrorists are largely a segment of Lakurawa who speak only Fulani and Arabic languages but with the intention to overrun many territories and establish dominion. He said he was convinced that the group has a lot of sleeping cells across the Yoruba territories.
Makinde said “the bad people from majorly the North-western zone, get in the heat, and they are relocating to Oyo state.”
He said he would not sleep until the state is free from all forms of insecurity.
Makinde said: “Year 2024 has been a challenging year, even in terms of safety and security. We had a few fire incidents, armed robbery, kidnappings, but what I would say is, we would redouble our effort in 2025. Some of these things, we will deal squarely with them.
He said that on Monday morning at the security briefing he was informed that quite a number of the terrorists from mainly from the North-Western zone are relocating here.
He said he would find them out and deal with them.
“I want to charge all of us; we are all from different places, we are all from different zones, and also our traditional rulers, you are the custodian of the environment within your domain. This is no joke. It’s a serious issue, and for us in Oyo state, they will never get any foothold here, and I will not sleep until every inch of Oyo state is free of bandits and bad guys.”
He said there is the need for the traditional rulers and the entire people of the state to be security conscious, saying.
Hear him “But you have to play your own part also. If you see any suspicious movement, please report to the authorities, and we will do something. It is in our collective interest.
“So I will like to use this opportunity to thank our service commanders. You have been doing your bit, and you have done very well for us in Oyo state. Nothing meaningful can happen in an atmosphere of insecurity. All the laudable things that we want to do, we won’t be able to do them, if we don’t have a safe and secure environment.”
