…As terrorists extend control to southwest
Tinubu speaks, condemns attacks
…State governors neglect governance focus on politics
…Nigerians lament, as fear, apprehension continue
As terrorism and banditry spread beyond their traditional strongholds into Nigerias South-West, fear is tightening its grip on citizens already overwhelmed by killings, kidnappings and growing concerns over political leaders distracted by power games instead of governance, write DAUDA ISMAIL and JOEL AJAYI.
For years, many Nigerians in the South-West watched the bloody wave of terrorism, banditry and mass abductions ravaging the North-East, North-West and parts of the North-Central with a mixture of sympathy and cautious relief. The violence seemed distant. Horrific, yes, but far away., but that illusion has now been shattered.
Today, the frightening reality confronting the nation is that the criminal networks that once operated largely around the forests of Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger and parts of Borno have gradually stretched their reach deeper into Nigerias South-West corridor. What began as isolated attacks in border communities has evolved into organised assaults on schools, villages and security formations.
The warning signs had long been there. In late 2025 and early 2026, a series of deadly attacks in Kwara State quietly exposed the growing infiltration of armed groups into areas historically considered relatively peaceful.
Communities in Kaiama, Patigi and Eruku came under repeated attacks. Worshippers were killed in churches, traditional communities razed, and residents forced to flee ancestral homes. In Kaiama Local Government Area alone, more than 160 persons were reportedly killed in one of the deadliest massacres witnessed in recent times.
Security experts now believe those attacks were not random. Rather, they were strategic tests attempts by terrorists and armed bandits to establish routes into the South-West through vulnerable forest corridors linking Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Oyo states.
Then came the horrifying attacks in Oyo State. On May 15, armed terrorists stormed three schools in Oriire Local Government Area in broad daylight, unleashing terror on pupils, teachers and residents. The attackers invaded Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, Community Grammar School in Esiele, and L.A. Primary School with chilling coordination.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen arrived on motorcycles, firing sporadically as frightened pupils scampered for safety. Within minutes, entire communities descended into chaos.
The Assistant Headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was shot dead while reportedly attempting to escape. An unsuspecting commercial motorcyclist was also killed in the confusion. Dozens of pupils and teachers, including the principal of Community Grammar School, Mrs Rachael Alamu, were abducted and dragged into nearby forests.
For many Nigerians, the images and testimonies from Oyo triggered painful memories of Chibok, Kankara, Jangebe and countless other school abductions that once appeared confined to northern Nigeria. This time, however, the terror had arrived in the South-West.
Residents described a horrifying scene of helplessness and abandonment. According to the traditional ruler of the area, Oba Tajudeen Abioye, security operatives reportedly arrived nearly two hours after the attack had ended. By then, the terrorists had vanished into forest reserves bordering the Old Oyo National Park axis.
Even more disturbing was the sophistication displayed by the attackers. Security personnel reportedly encountered improvised explosive devices during rescue operations, underscoring fears that the criminal groups now possess more advanced operational capabilities.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the attacks and assured Nigerians that security agencies were intensifying efforts to rescue the abducted victims and dismantle terror networks across the country.
There is no place in Nigeria where terrorists will find safety. We will locate them, confront them and completely defeat them, the President declared.
He also renewed calls for the establishment of state police, arguing that many underserved rural communities remain dangerously exposed because of inadequate security presence. Yet, across the country, many citizens are growing increasingly sceptical.
From Borno to Benue, Zamfara to Plateau, and now Oyo and Kwara, Nigerians say the violence has become too frequent, too coordinated and too devastating to dismiss as isolated incidents.
In Maiduguri, fresh attacks near Sambisa Forest once again exposed the resilience of insurgent groups despite years of military offensives. Reports of another school attack in Borno occurring almost simultaneously with the Oyo incident further heightened fears that terrorists are becoming emboldened.
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki captured the mood of many Nigerians when he lamented the worsening insecurity in Oyo State, describing the killings and abductions as “heartbreaking and unacceptable.”
Indeed, public frustration is mounting not only against the federal government but also against state governors, many of whom critics accuse of prioritising political calculations ahead of governance and security coordination.
While politicians continue to build alliances ahead of future elections, rural communities across Nigeria are left vulnerable to marauding gunmen. Meanwhile, growing public anger is also being directed at several state governors, many of whom critics accuse of abandoning governance in favour of endless political calculations, coalition meetings and succession battles ahead of the 2027 elections. Across the country, citizens complain that while communities are being overrun by terrorists and bandits, political actors appear more preoccupied with defections, power alignments and personal ambitions than with the urgent responsibility of protecting lives and property.
In many affected communities, residents complain of poor intelligence gathering, weak policing structures, inadequate military presence and neglected border settlements that have effectively become safe havens for criminal gangs.
For ordinary Nigerians, however, the crisis is no longer merely about statistics or politics. It is about fear – fFear of sending children to school, of travelling on highways, of farming and of living in isolated communities.
Across villages in Oyo, displaced families now sleep with one eye open, uncertain whether another attack may come before dawn. Parents continue to search frantically for missing children, while grieving families mourn loved ones killed in senseless violence.
“The tragedy confronting Nigeria today is not simply the spread of terrorism. It is the growing normalisation of insecurity, and unless urgent, coordinated and decisive action is taken, many fear the country could drift further into a dangerous era where no region can truly call itself safe anymore, said Shuna Fakum, a public affairs analyst.
