Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, who also serves as the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF), revealed Wednesday that he has enlisted the help of his Southern colleagues to establish a strong platform for information sharing and strong operational coordination.
As you may remember, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde recently expressed concern that bandits escaping the military assault in the northwest are seeking safety in Oyo.
However, Makinde reassured locals during the 2025 annual interfaith service for workers at the Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, that his government is committed to putting an end to the bandits.
According to Makinde, many criminals have been compelled to seek safety in other states, including Oyo, as a result of the continuous military operations in the North-West, which include aerial bombardments of bandit hideouts.
Meanwhile, the Southern Governors stated that they are fortifying various regional security measures in response to the ISWAP members’ gradual migration from the North to the South.
According to him, they will occasionally offer operational support and act as sources of local intelligence-gathering methods for official security services.
Speaking through Mr. Kayode Akinmade, his Special Advisor on Media and Strategy, Governor Abiodun stated, “The principles and strategies recommended for the collective good of the South include protection of lives and property, prevention of crime, community policing, economic development, enforcement of human rights, intelligence gathering, and fostering understanding among security agencies, government departments, and stakeholders to achieve a unified security approach.
“Governor Dapo Abiodun is convinced that security is a shared responsibility of both the federal and the state governments.
“This attitude explains why, from the inception of his administration, he has been funding both the state and federal security agencies in the state in a manner that is unprecedented since the creation of the state, and this is the exact ideology he has brought to bear as the Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum, mobilising his colleagues for regular funding of the security apparatus in their respective states.
“For instance, operational vehicles, technological communication, and combat equipment are continually provided to security agencies to boost their motivation and performance, while the governors are also encouraged to foster joint security assessment, intelligence sharing, and actions among the states to address common security challenges and adopt common winning strategies.”
“Chairman of the Southern Governor’s Forum, SGF, and Governor Dapo Abiodun is fully committed to the security of the state and the entire Southern region of Nigeria.
“Since he emerged as the Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum, he has worked assiduously with his colleagues for consistent close monitoring of the activities of the security agencies in the states, even as he also maintains regular touch through visits, telephone calls, and physical and virtual meetings with his counterparts in the region, especially in light of the unfolding drift of ISWAP members from the North to the South.
“As the chairman of the Southern Governor’s Forum, through meetings, calls, interstate visits, and correspondence, the Ogun State governor is comparing and sharing his winning formula with other governors of the South in demonstration of his commitment to impeachable security as a desideratum for massive development of the region.
“In addition, the governors share information and review the crime control strategies within the region through meetings, calls, interstate visits, and correspondence.
“The principles and strategies that are recommended for the collective good of the South include the protection of lives and property. We must ensure our citizens’ safety and the securing of assets in all the Southern states.
“Prevention of crime, we should at all times adopt suitable proactive measures to prevent criminal activities and maintain law and order within and between the states.
“Community policing, every state government in the South and the security agencies must collaborate with local communities to identify and address security concerns.
“Each state will adopt intelligence gathering, collecting and analyzing data to anticipate and respond to security threats is of utmost importance as it places us a step ahead of criminals.
“Interagency collaboration, fostering understanding among security agencies, government departments, and stakeholders to achieve a unified security approach.”
According to the DSS source, some arrests have resulted from proactive tactics and measures, particularly in the Southwest.
In a chat with press, chairman of the Southwest Amotekun Commanders, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said strategies have been put in place to curb the activities of the terrorists.
Adeleye said, “We are not unmindful of the speculation of the influx of the terrorists into the Southwest.
“The state governors and the Amotekun corps, across the Southwest states, are strategizing so that we are not taken by surprise by the bandits. We want to assure residents to be rest assured that we are up to the task. We are ready for them.”
The Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, responded by pleading with the governors of the South West to expel the bandits.
YCE, in a statement by its Secretary-General, Chief Oladipo Oyewole said, “The infiltration of bandits into the forests of North West to Osun and Oyo states is of great concern to all.
For anyone who knows the geography of those locations, it is permeable and assailable. Yorubaland must be concerned about those descriptions alone.
“The YCE haven taken deep cognisance of the need for the safety of lives and properties of Nigerians feels worried and more concerned for a need for proactive measures to assail the fear that is beginning to grip the hearts and minds of those who care!”
The fact that the governors of Oyo and Osun States have publicly discussed their fears indicates that there are several internal security-related problems.
The Governments of Osun and Oyo and Lagos cannot and must not relax. Law enforcement agencies too must prepare. The Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, therefore, urges all agencies of Government (along with both Federal and States) to be proactive in this unanimous struggle to chase them out.