- The Oyo State House of Assembly has strongly advocated for the immediate establishment of a Special Joint Security Taskforce following a spike in armed bandit attacks targeting commuters and communities.
- Lawmakers passed a resolution urging that the task force include heavily armed mainstream military personnel, Amotekun operatives, Forest Agro Rangers, and local hunters who possess deep geographical knowledge of vulnerable forest reserves.
- The legislative house also requested targeted local government funding to clear thick roadside vegetation along active transit lines and install additional strategic tactical checkpoints across identified flashpoints.
A legislative push to secure vulnerable regional corridors in Oyo State has commenced following an urgent resolution passed by the State House of Assembly.
Eko Hot Blog reports that during a plenary session on Wednesday, the lawmakers collectively called for the formation of a heavily structured, multi-agency Special Joint Security Taskforce to systematically clean out armed bands of bandits operating along the Oke-Ogun transport line.
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The legislative decision reflects deep, bipartisan anxieties within the chamber regarding the deteriorating security architecture along essential agrarian highways that link northern parts of Oyo State to neighboring commercial centers.
The legislative debate was triggered by a Matter of Urgent Public Importance jointly sponsored by the Minority Leader, Hon. Waliu Salami (representing Irepo/Olorunsogo), and Hon. Luqman Jimoh (representing Oorelope).
The sponsors drew the chamber’s attention to a deadly ambush on the Kishi-Igbeti Road on June 12, where suspected bandits fired upon travelers, killing Moshood Kayode, an active employee of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), while leaving several other commuters hospitalized with severe gunshot wounds.
Lawmakers noted that less than 24 hours later, a separate violent assault occurred along the Igboho-Igbeti route, terrorizing local farming communities and crippling economic movement.
The assembly also recalled a highly sophisticated assault on May 15, 2026, within the Oriire Local Government Area, where armed men raided the Baptist Nursery and Primary School in Yawota, alongside Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Esiele, abducting scores of teachers and students.
While praising Governor Seyi Makinde for his relentless operational oversight in securing the eventual release of those school victims, the Assembly maintained that the current security climate requires permanent tactical deployments rather than reactive pursuits, particularly around the vast fringes of the Old Oyo National Park.
To address the situation, the Chairman of the House Committee on Security and Strategy, Hon. Rahman Olorunpoto, insisted that federal agencies must collaborate immediately with state outfits like the Amotekun Corps, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Army, and local hunters.
Because the sprawling Old Oyo National Park falls under exclusive federal control, a unified front is vital to preventing criminal syndicates from converting the forest reserve into a permanent operational base.
Supporting this, Hon. Babalola Abiodun of Ibadan North-East I urged the deployment of specialized Forest Agro Rangers to actively secure the deep woods.
Concludingly, the House directed its joint committees on Security, Local Government, and Environment to immediately embark on a fact-finding oversight tour of the affected Oke-Ogun and Oriire flashpoints.
The Assembly formally appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde to approve emergency logistics funds for Irepo, Olorunsogo, and Oorelope local governments to sustain community vigilantes.
Furthermore, the lawmakers issued a directive to state ministries to quickly initiate the clearing of overgrown, dense roadside bushes along the Kishi-Igbeti and Igboho-Kishi roads to completely eliminate blind spots used by highway robbers to launch surprise ambushes.
