The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has called for an urgent overhaul of security measures across the South-West following a fresh wave of kidnappings and attacks in Ogun, Oyo and Osun states.
The organisation said the recurrence of abductions despite existing regional security initiatives showed that current measures had not done enough to protect residents, travellers and farmers.
Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, made the position known in a statement on Wednesday, expressing concern over a series of recent security incidents across the region.
Among the incidents cited was last week’s abduction of travellers along the Ijebu-Ode–Ibadan Road, where the kidnappers reportedly demanded N25 million in ransom.
One of the victims was identified in reports as Dapo, a recent National Youth Service Corps graduate who had completed his service in Edo State.
Afenifere also raised concern over an earlier kidnapping incident at the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) in Ibadan, noting that the location had reportedly experienced a similar attack months earlier.
Other incidents referenced by the organisation included the killing of a farmer in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State and the abductions of Prince Michael Folarin in Igbeti, Oyo State; 33-year-old poultry farmer Ooreoluwa Osonuga in Ikenne, Ogun State; and Ifedayo Local Government Vice Chairman, Hon. Debo Farounbi, in Ora, Osun State.
Farounbi was abducted in June 2026 in Ora, a community on the Osun-Kwara border.
Reports at the time said gunmen attacked the town at about 10pm, with military personnel and local volunteers engaging the attackers before they fled with the local government official.
Afenifere acknowledged security efforts by governments in the region, including Operation Kosaye and joint security arrangements involving South-West states, but argued that the continuing attacks demonstrated the need for more effective and better-equipped responses.
Ajayi also linked the security crisis to wider social problems, warning that poverty, educational deprivation and youth unemployment could provide a recruitment pipeline for bandits and other criminal networks.
Echoing recent warnings attributed to Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, as well as the long-standing concerns of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Afenifere called on governments at all levels to prioritise free and quality education and strengthen youth welfare programmes.
The organisation argued that addressing the social conditions that make young people vulnerable to criminal recruitment should complement security operations.
For the immediate strengthening of security, Afenifere called for modern and high-grade weapons for the South-West’s Amotekun Corps to enable its personnel to confront heavily armed criminal groups.
It also advocated the deployment of surveillance drones and rapid-response systems to monitor forests, border communities and other areas considered vulnerable to criminal activity.
Afenifere further demanded greater financial autonomy for local governments, arguing that councils should have sufficient resources to support grassroots policing and community security initiatives.
The organisation proposed giving traditional rulers and community leaders greater roles in identifying new arrivals, strengthening neighbourhood watch structures and improving intelligence gathering at the community level.
Beyond security operations, Afenifere urged authorities to introduce mechanised farming schemes and vocational programmes to create employment opportunities for young people.
It also called for strict judicial penalties for banditry and related crimes, stressing that a lasting solution to insecurity would require both effective law enforcement and measures addressing unemployment, poverty and educational deprivation.
