KEY POINTS
- Forest routes across four South-West states are fueling kidnappings.
- The Old Oyo National Park anchors the corridor used by attackers.
- Gani Adams says 40 of 164 South-West LGAs show signs of infiltration.
A web of forests and porous border corridors is fueling a wave of kidnappings across Nigeria’s South-West, with bandits dislodged from the north exploiting the woodland to strike and vanish. A Saturday investigation traced the forest routes across Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Ekiti states. Moreover, local hunters and traditional leaders say weak surveillance is letting the attackers move at will.
The forest routes powering the attacks
The Old Oyo National Park sits at the heart of the problem. Specifically, the 2,512-square-kilometer reserve connects Oyo to Kwara and on to forests in Niger State, giving armed groups a near-continuous corridor. Therefore, attackers can melt back into the trees, and from there trek as far as Sokoto, sources said.
Forests linking Osun to Ekiti through Imesi-Ile and the Kainji and Gbugbu/Babanla woodlands deepen the network. According to security officials, criminals shift abducted victims along these forest routes, exploiting dense terrain that conventional patrols struggle to police.
The Oyo attack and a dislodged enemy
The threat hardened on May 15, when gunmen raided three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, killed teachers and seized 47 pupils and staff. Indeed, the attackers reportedly escaped through the Old Oyo National Park. The Defence Headquarters, via Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, blamed JAS terrorists displaced by high-tempo operations elsewhere.
Aare Ona Kakanfo Gani Adams said his men dislodged the same fighters in 2020, only to see them return. “They know the terrain more than residents. They can trek from that forest to Sokoto State, both day and night,” he said, adding that 40 of the South-West’s 164 local governments now show signs of infiltration. Therefore, he blamed the region’s governors for being slow and reactive.
State responses and a hunters’ warning
States are trying to push back. Specifically, Ogun’s government, through aide Kayode Akinmade, said intelligence-led operations had neutralized some suspects, freed victims and tightened border patrols. Ekiti’s adviser, retired Brig. Gen. Ogundana, listed army, police, DSS, NSCDC, Amotekun and hunters as joint teams now bush-combing forests.
Osun faces 23 problem boundaries. The state’s Forest Security Service commander, Hammed Nureni, named corridors from Imesi-Ile to Lagbada and Orile-Owu as routes criminals exploit. However, he said his service lacks government support, even though it has trained 6,000 hunters and could field 30,000 with proper backing.
Some voices want a rethink of how the forests themselves function. Specifically, Oyegun Sangotoye, vice-principal of a school in Oriire, urged government to open up parts of the Old Oyo National Park to farming or housing, since the no-go status has turned reserves into hideouts.
The Professional Hunters Association sounded the loudest alarm. National Secretary Igyem Dalandi called the spread a “dangerous trend” and warned that conventional agencies can no longer contain it alone. Together, the voices point to a region whose vast green belts have turned from heritage into hideout, and whose response is still catching up.
