Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation Afenifere has expressed deep dismay over last Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks on three schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, demanding urgent and visible action from Southwest governors to halt what it described as a growing wave of insecurity across the region.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, Afenifere confirmed that gunmen on motorbikes struck Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esinele; and L.A. Primary School — all within Oriire LGA — on May 15. The attacks drew particular pain from Afenifere Leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, who received the news in the same week he celebrated his 100th birthday.
Ajayi catalogued a string of recent security incidents to underscore the urgency of the moment. On May 12, Ogun State Police confirmed the abduction of three family members at Ipojo Golden Estate in Ijebu Ode. The following day, police and vigilante operatives disrupted an alleged ₦10 million ransom collection by a suspected kidnapping gang in Otefon Village Forest, Atiba LGA, Oyo State. On May 2, gunmen raided a Police Mobile Force camp in Tenebo, Kaiama LGA, killing three officers, while a 60-year-old trader was separately kidnapped in Ibadan and a businessman abducted in Irawo on the same day.
Earlier incidents were equally grim. On April 18, armed men stormed an open-air church crusade in Eda Oniyo, Ekiti State, killing a pastor and abducting several worshippers. In February, gunmen attacked the communities of Woro and Nuku in Kwara State’s Kaiama LGA over two consecutive days, killing many and abducting more than 170 people.
Afenifere warned that the pattern of attacks suggests terrorists are pursuing a deliberate strategy to overrun the Southwest and, ultimately, the entire southern part of the country. The organisation pointedly questioned what has become of the security commitments made by the region’s six governors — including the CCTV network deployed by Ogun State, surveillance aircraft acquired by Oyo State, and security measures announced by Ondo State.
“The primary duty of government is the security and welfare of the people,” Ajayi said, adding that Southwest governments must demonstrate they are alive to their constitutional responsibilities. “Everything must be done to ensure that no area in the region experiences an attack by kidnappers and bandits anymore.”
Afenifere went further, asserting that the conduct of Southwest governors does not reflect an appreciation of the weight of their security obligations. The organisation called for decisive action to ensure that terrorists gain neither presence nor foothold across Yorubaland — a territory it defined broadly as stretching from Lagos through Kogi to Edo and Delta States.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​