The security landscape of Northern Oyo State has undergone a massive re-militarization following the brutal bandit attack on the Old Oyo National Park office in Oloka Village. Today, January 9, the Oyo State Police Command confirmed the deployment of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units, tactical strike teams, and the Mobile Police Force to the Oriire axis. This “on-field” surge is a direct response to the January 6 assault where five forest guards were murdered by a gang of 12 bandits who reportedly emerged from the dense forest reserves.
Simultaneously, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, issued a blistering statement from its Ibadan headquarters through National Publicity Secretary Comrade Jare Ajayi. The group has challenged South-West governors to move beyond “rhetoric” and take decisive action against the growing terror cells in the region’s forests. Afenifere cited not only the National Park killings but also the recent murder of four farmers in Igboho (Oorelope LGA) as proof that Yorubaland’s borders are becoming dangerously porous.
The analysis of this situation reveals a broader regional threat. Afenifere’s statement specifically highlighted the arrest of fleeing bandits in Ondo State individuals reportedly escaping U.S. airstrikes in Sokoto as evidence that the South-West is now a “fallback zone” for northern insurgents. Jare Ajayi warned that the gunmen who struck at Oloka must have operated from a nearby cell, urging the Makinde administration to prioritize “intelligence-led forest sweeping” rather than just reactive patrolling.
In response, CP Femi Haruna and other service chiefs have personally visited the Oriire location to oversee the “stabilization operation.” The deployment of EOD units suggests that the police are not just looking for gunmen, but are also scanning for potential improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that bandits might have left behind to slow down security pursuers. This marks a significant escalation in the type of hardware being used to secure the state’s rural borders.
