The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has warned that terrorists and bandits have heavily infiltrated the South-West, explicitly stating that at least 40 local government areas across the region are under direct terror threat. His urgent intelligence reports reveal that heavily armed criminal factions fleeing military operations in the North-West are setting up camps in South-West forests.

His alerts follow a severe security breach in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where bandits launched coordinated attacks on three schools, killing a teacher and abducting dozens of students.

 Terrorists and armed bandits have set up camps in forests spanning Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo states, as well as parts of Kogi and Kwara.

He stated that these criminal movements are highly organized and are being coordinated by foreign actors and sponsors.

The bandits are executing a dangerous form of guerrilla warfare, shifting their tactics from nighttime raids to daylight attacks on schools, highways, and public markets.

He highlighted a highly disturbing escalation where multiple traditional rulers (Obas) have been targeted and killed in their domains.

Gani Adams strongly criticized the South-West governors for political complacency and failing to secure their states.

He revealed that he has sent numerous letters and proposals to the governors over the last two years to organize a South-West Security Summit, but has received zero responses.

He noted that while the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun) was an excellent initiative, its recruitment has become heavily politicized, prioritizing political loyalty over operational competence.

He lamented that the office of the Aare Onakakanfo has been sidelined, restricting him to merely sharing intelligence rather than actively participating in joint operations with state actors.

To halt the impending security implosion, Gani Adams made several immediate recommendations:

He announced his readiness to mobilize millions of local hunters and warriors from the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and the South West Security Stakeholders Group (SSSG) to flush criminals out of the forests if the governors grant official permission.

He called on surrounding states like Kwara and Kogi to replicate the Amotekun-style localized security framework to protect their border communities.

He renewed his advocacy for the immediate creation of State Police to fix the structural weaknesses embedded in Nigeria`s centralized security architecture.

He urged traditional rulers and residents to activate robust local intelligence networks and report all suspicious forest movements immediately.