•Police tighten security across Ekiti borders
•Senate summons COAS, IGP, defence minister
The Nigerian Army has deployed a full brigade and heavy equipment across parts of Kwara South and Kwara North following directives from President Bola Tinubu to eliminate bandits operating from the state’s forests.
Also, Ekiti State Police Command intensified security measures across major entry and exit points, following recent attacks in neighbouring Kwara and Kogi states by bandits. With Ekiti sharing borders with both states, the command said it was acting proactively to prevent any infiltration by criminal elements.
The Senate had moved decisively to confront the deepening wave of insecurity sweeping across Kwara South Senatorial District, summoning the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar; the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede; and Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to appear before lawmakers.
According to a statement issued in Ilorin, yesterday, by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaiye, troops have begun operations in communities around Oke Ode and Babanla in Ifelodun Local Council.
“The operation is also extending to Edu and Patigi to comb through thick forests from which kidnappers launched attacks on different communities and abducted people for ransom,” the statement said.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, who had earlier met with Tinubu over the security situation, expressed appreciation for the prompt response and the military’s renewed intervention to restore peace in the state. He noted that the exercise, part of Operation Fasan Yanma (OPFY), aims to eliminate all forms of security threats in Kwara South and Kwara North.
POLICE Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Ekiti, SP Sunday Abutu, told newsmen that a joint security operation involving the police, Amotekun Corps, and other sister agencies had been activated to safeguard the state.
According to him, the deployment covers all entry and exit points, as well as other strategic locations across Ekiti. The initiative, he said, is aimed at deterring and responding swiftly to any security threat. He assured residents that the heightened security presence was not to cause fear but to ensure safety and stability. “The deployment is purely preventive. Citizens are urged to remain calm and continue their lawful activities,” he added.
Abutu noted that the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Eribo, had directed operatives to maintain civility and professionalism while executing their duties. He also urged residents to cooperate with security personnel and report any suspicious movement in their communities.
Dismissing rumours circulating on social media, the police spokesperson clarified that all deployed operatives are from within Ekiti, emphasising that the move was a locally coordinated effort to sustain peace and security.
THE Senate’s resolution followed weeks of escalating violence in the region, including a brutal ambush that left 12 local vigilantes and the Baale of Ogba-Ayo community dead in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Council.
Lawmakers also demanded the creation of a permanent military base in Ifelodun to curb the unchecked activities of bandits and kidnappers who terrorised communities across Kwara South.
Raising the motion of urgent national importance, Deputy Senate Leader, Lola Ashiru (Kwara South), described the security situation as dire, warning that ungoverned spaces along the Kwara–Kogi–Ekiti axis had become breeding grounds for foreign armed elements operating with the support of local informants.
According to him, the region has witnessed at least 142 kidnappings and over 70 killings in the last 12 months. More than 25 communities have been deserted, schools shut down, farmlands abandoned, and local economies crippled.
