Terrorist sleeper cells spreading, Yorubaland no longer safe– Gani Adams declares

The recent abduction of 39 pupils and seven teachers in Oyo State has sparked intense fear across the South West, as security experts and regional stakeholders warn that hidden terrorist sleeper cells have successfully integrated into civilian communities and vulnerable forest reserves.

The expansion of violent terrorism into Nigeria’s South West region has triggered widespread panic and mass displacement after a coordinated assault on schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. Armed bandits, who recently moved their operations down from neighboring Kwara State, invaded Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, abducting seven teachers and 39 students, including a two-year-old toddler. The initial attack resulted in the immediate death of one educator, while a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was brutally beheaded in captivity just days later. One week after the raid, with all victims still held hostage, a palpable wave of fear has swept across the geopolitical zone, forcing entire rural communities to desert their homes and seek refuge in urban centers.

Security analysts are increasingly alarmed by the shifting nature of the threat, warning that the primary danger is no longer confined to distant, ungoverned forests, but is now driven by covert sleeper cells hidden directly within towns and cities. These highly patient networks move quietly into southern municipalities, renting apartments, establishing legitimate businesses, and gathering local intelligence on critical infrastructure and security routines without raising suspicion. Commenting on the strategic failure of the region’s security architecture to halt this infiltration, the President of the Yoruba Council Worldwide, Mr. Hassan Oladotun, insisted that immediate, apolitical coordination is needed among regional governors. “The recent invasion of some schools in Oyo by terrorists has shown that Yorubaland is no longer safe. It is better for governors across the region to jettison politics and take collective action towards safeguarding the region from total invasion by bandits and terrorists. 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, especially Ogbomoso and parts of Oyo State. It is a signal that the region is no longer safe. The menace started from Ekiti State areas which share boundaries with Kwara State and we thought the establishment of the outfit would put a stop to the movement of the bandits towards the southwest. Initially, it was effective especially in Ondo and Osun states but gradually the security outfit lost focus or it was no longer funded and across the states its effect is dwindling very fast, as it is being used to tackle petty crimes while bandits are getting emboldened to attack the region. At this point, the governors need to return to the drawing table with a view to making the region safe for the people. I am of the view that other security outfits, like Oodua People’s Congress, Iru Ekun, and local hunters should be integrated into Amotekun to check the incursion of the terrorists,” Oladotun declared.

Concurrently, community-based defense networks are demanding a major policy shift that blends statutory state power with indigenous tracking knowledge to prevent the region’s dense topography from becoming permanent insurgent strongholds. Local defenders argue that the porous boundaries and unmonitored agrarian corridors surrounding vulnerable rural institutions require active physical patrols rather than distant bureaucratic oversight. Echoing the desperate call for structural reform, the Oluode of Ogbomoso South Local Government Area, Chief Adebayo Amos Abiade, emphasized that conventional military measures must be reinforced by grassroots operatives familiar with the local landscape. “The recent insecurity spreading towards the South-West is deeply alarming. As local hunters and community-based security stakeholders, we are concerned about the growing vulnerability of our forests, which are increasingly becoming unsafe and potentially used as hideouts for criminal elements. These forests can no longer remain unmonitored or left without structured oversight. Beyond modern surveillance and intelligence gathering, we must also reinforce traditional means of securing our land. Local hunters, forest guards, and community vigilante structures have long relied on indigenous knowledge of terrain, tracking skills, and early warning systems rooted in our communities. These methods, when properly coordinated and supported, remain highly effective in complementing formal security efforts. Governments across the South-West must urgently improve surveillance of forest reserves, strengthen community intelligence networks, and ensure rapid response mechanisms are in place, especially around rural schools which must no longer remain easy targets. What is required now is coordinated action, stronger intelligence sharing, and a serious integration of both modern and traditional security approaches. Our people deserve to live in safety, and that responsibility must be taken seriously and without delay,” Chief Adebayo stated.

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