ISWAP Commander’s Killing: S’West States Fortify Borders, Forests
Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun and Oyo states have intensified security operations, intelligence-sharing and border surveillance following the killing of suspected Islamic State West Africa Province commander, Abdussamad Ohida, in the Owo forest, amid growing concerns over the use of forests and inter-state corridors by terrorists, kidnappers and other criminal groups.
The development has triggered renewed security measures across the region, with authorities in the affected states stepping up forest combing, border monitoring, intelligence gathering and inter-agency operations to prevent criminal elements from exploiting remote communities and forest routes.
In Ekiti State, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Brig. Gen. Ebenezer Ogundana (retd.), said the six South-West states were cooperating and sharing intelligence on security threats, while each state maintained its own operational arrangements.
Ogundana said the objective was to prevent the infiltration of insurgents and ensure that the states could respond quickly to emerging threats.
“There is no state in the Southwest that is sleeping as far as security is concerned,” he said, adding that the states were sharing information on security developments.
According to him, the Amotekun security outfits in the South-West regularly meet, with the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission coordinating the meetings. He added that security advisers from the states also meet under the same arrangement.
He said Ekiti had placed particular emphasis on monitoring its borders with Kogi, Kwara, Ondo and Osun states to prevent the infiltration of bandits and other criminal elements.
“We are not sitting down in Ekiti and waiting for things to happen. We are at the borders; we have put in place the kind of security arrangements and structures that will prevent them from getting here,” Ogundana said.
In Ogun State, the government said it had also intensified security operations in forests, border communities and other vulnerable areas following the reported killing of Ohida in neighbouring Ondo.
The Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said the state had adopted intelligence-led measures, including coordinated patrols, stop-and-search operations, surveillance and bush-combing exercises.
He said recent operations in identified forest flashpoints had resulted in the arrest of suspects, the disruption of criminal camps and the rescue of kidnapped victims.
Akinmade said particular attention was being paid to border communities and suspected infiltration routes linking Ogun with neighbouring states.
He added that the police, DSS, military, NSCDC, Amotekun, hunters and local vigilante groups were being integrated into the state’s security operations.
“We will not allow any part of the state, including our forests and rural communities, to become safe havens for terrorists, kidnappers or other criminal elements,” he said.
In Oyo State, the police said they were also collaborating with sister security agencies to prevent the infiltration of the state’s forests.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the command was intensifying efforts to secure the state’s borders and forest areas, although it had no information about any specific planned attack.
“Every plan is in place with other security agencies to ensure that we curb any infiltration by anybody or any group. We are doing everything possible to ensure our borders are secured,” he said.
The renewed security measures followed the reported killing of Ohida, popularly known as Anwar.
The Ondo State Government commended the security agencies for what it described as an intelligence-led operation, saying the development underscored the importance of inter-agency cooperation and intelligence-sharing in confronting emerging security threats.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, through the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Idowu Ajanaku, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting lives and property and urged the security agencies to sustain the momentum.
The operation has also revived attention on the wider security challenges facing the South-West, where forest corridors and border communities have increasingly become areas of concern because of attacks, kidnappings and warnings over possible terrorist infiltration.
In Ondo, security concerns have previously centred on Owo and surrounding communities, while authorities have also monitored routes linking the state to neighbouring Ekiti, Kogi and Osun.
In Oyo, several communities have faced kidnapping incidents and security alerts, including the abduction of schoolchildren in the southern part of the state, while security agencies have repeatedly warned about the use of forests as hideouts by criminal groups.
Ekiti has similarly intensified border security following kidnapping incidents and concerns about armed groups moving through forested areas and adjoining states.
The security concerns have heightened the importance of cooperation among the states, particularly because criminal groups can exploit state boundaries and difficult forest terrain to evade security forces.
The latest measures therefore represent an effort by the states to combine intelligence, local knowledge, surveillance and coordinated operations to prevent criminal networks from establishing footholds in the region.
For now, security agencies in the affected states say they remain on alert, with forest patrols, border surveillance and intelligence-sharing expected to continue amid concerns over possible attempts by terrorist and criminal groups to exploit the region’s vast forest corridors.
Also, speaking with one of our correspondents, the Special Adviser to Osun State Governor on Security, Samuel Ojo, said the state government would not allow any criminal to use its forests as hideout.
Ojo said after the Owo incident, the Osun State Government would intensify surveillance across its forests and work more on intelligence to prevent crime.
“After the reported killing of suspected terrorists in Ondo State forest, Osun will reinforce surveillance across its forest.
“We won’t allow any criminal gang to use our forest as a hideout to perpetrate crime. We are working with our security agencies to prevent crime by working on intelligence before these criminals act,” Ojo said.
