The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has warned that the Old Oyo National Park has become a serious threat to security in the South-West.
Naijaonpoint reports that Adams said the park, which is close to Niger State, had long served as a strategic entry point for armed groups operating across the region.
He spoke with Saturday Punch while raising concern over the activities of bandits and terrorists in forests across the South-West.
Adams said he led members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, hunters and vigilantes in 2020 to dislodge bandits from the forest.
He, however, said the armed groups had returned to the same forest corridors due to weak coordination in forest surveillance and border security.
Adams said, “The Oyo National Park, at a particular area, is just about 60 kilometres from Niger State, and terrorists have been in that forest since 2020.
“We dislodged them when the people of Kishi invited members of the OPC, local hunters and vigilantes to flush them out. We recovered about four AK-47 rifles and some vehicles from them and handed the items over to the police area commander in the place. After that operation, kidnapping incidents in Kishi, Oriire and Ago-Are reduced.”
Adams said the thick nature of the forest had made it difficult for locals and security operatives to contain the armed groups.
He further stated, “It is a very thick forest, and the terrorists have returned there and started terrorising our people. They know the terrain more than residents.
“They can trek from that forest to Sokoto State, both day and night. They have chased our hunters out of the forest.
“Most of the forests in the South-West, where these bandits operate, are reserved areas. These terrorists are infiltrating the South-West through the Niger forest.”
Adams had earlier alleged that 40 of the 164 local government areas in the South-West had been infiltrated by terrorists.
He said the dense and interconnected forests across the region allowed armed groups to move across state boundaries undetected and establish hideouts.
The Yoruba leader blamed governors in the region for what he described as a slow and reactive response to the worsening security situation.
Adams said the insecurity could have been contained earlier if governors had strengthened forest surveillance and rural border security.
“If the South-West governments allow collaboration with South-West Security Stakeholders made up of 14 groups, which we put together over 14 years ago, to work with the government, we will be able to flush out the terrorists from all our forests,” he said.
“The situation is so bad that some villages around these troubled areas have been deserted. Our governors should be blamed for the insecurity in the region. They are not proactive and have politicised the issue of security,” he added.
