Insecurity: Again, Senate summons security chiefs, seeks military base in Kwara South
Worried by the increasing activities of bandits in the country, the Senate on Wednesday summoned the Minister of Defence, Mohammad Badaru Abubakar, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Olufemi Oluyede, and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to brief it in plenary on the coordinated federal response to the insecurity in Kwara South Senatorial District of Kwara State.
The Red Chamber also mandated the Senate Committees on Defence, Police Affairs, and National Security and Intelligence to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of affected areas and report back within two weeks.
It also urged the Federal Government to set up a permanent military base in Kwara South to be able to effectively tackle the worsening menace of terrorism in the area.
These resolutions followed deliberation on a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Senator Ashiru Oyelola Yisa (APC Kwara South), on the urgent need to address insecurity in Kwara South Senatorial District.
The Senate also mandated the Chief of Defence Staff, General Chris Musa, and the Inspector General of Police to deploy additional troops and special units to clear the forests and restore normalcy in affected communities.
The motion laid emphasis on setting up a military base within the troubled area of Kwara South, particularly Ifelodun Local Government Area, calling for immediate and comprehensive federal intervention.
Presenting the motion, Senator Ashiru expressed grave concern over the escalating insecurity in Kwara South, especially in Ifelodun Local Government Area, saying that bandit attacks, kidnappings, and killings had reached alarming levels in recent weeks, forcing thousands of residents to flee their communities.
He noted that within the last month, no fewer than 12 forest guards and local vigilante members were killed in an ambush by armed bandits in Oke-Ode, revealing that among the victims was the Baale of Ogba-Ayo community, while several traditional and community leaders were also slain in separate incidents across Babanla, Sagbe, Oro Ago, Ganmu-Alheri, and other communities in Ifelodun, Isin, Ekiti, and Oke Ero Local Government Areas.
The motion further expressed concern that at least 142 persons have been kidnapped and over 70 killed in the last 12 months across Kwara South, with no fewer than 25 communities deserted due to recurring attacks, stressing that the situation had caused massive humanitarian displacement, disrupted social and economic activities, and forced the closure of schools.
According to him, farmlands have been abandoned, roads have become unsafe, and local economies paralyzed—thereby worsening poverty and increasing youth vulnerability to crime.
Ashiru asserted that the attacks were largely perpetrated by foreign armed elements in collaboration with local informants, who operate from forest hideouts along the Kwara–Kogi–Ekiti boundary axis.
While acknowledging some interventions by the Federal Government and security agencies, he lamented that such responses remained episodic, inadequate, and reactive, leaving vast ungoverned spaces under the control of criminal gangs.
The motion also highlighted that local security volunteers and vigilantes, who often serve as first responders, lacked adequate equipment, mobility, and protection, yet continued to risk their lives defending their communities.
The lawmaker warned that if the sustained insecurity in Kwara South was not urgently addressed, it could spread to other parts of the North Central and South West geo-political zones, posing a serious threat to national stability.