Once celebrated as one of Nigeria's most tranquil states, Ondo has, in the past few months, been faced with insecurity with incessant killings and kidnappings by gunmen. In this report, ADEWALE MOMOH examines how the attacks have destroyed local economies, disrupted communal living, and driven farmers away.
Rising Insecurity in Ondo
In the agrarian communities of Akure North Local Council of Ondo State, as well as towns straddling Owo and Ose councils, nightfall no longer brings rest or sleep; it brings fear. The state, which used to resonate as one of Nigeria's most peaceful states, has found itself in the rifle scope of gunmen who have been unleashing an incessant wave of violence. The gunmen, whose tactics mirror the dreaded bandits of the Northwest zone, have turned farms into abduction zones, communities into shooting galleries, and homes into potential graveyards.
Since the beginning of 2026, no week has passed without the crack of gunfire echoing through Ondo's once-tranquil agrarian communities, a spine-chilling tactics. The attack on Ipele Police Station on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2025, was merely the opening salvo in what has become a sustained campaign of terror.
Epicentre of Attacks: Akure North
If there has been an epicentre of security breaches in the past two months in the state, it is Akure North Local Council. Communities like Eleyewo, Ilu-Abo, Ayede-Ogbese, and Agamo have become synonymous with abduction and murder. The proximity of these communities to the Akure Airport, which ought to be one of the safest parts of the state, has instead become a tragic irony, as criminal gangs exploit the dense forests surrounding the axis to launch a series of attacks.
The Ilu-Abo community, located about five kilometres from the airport, has witnessed repeated invasions. On January 25, 2026, gunmen trailed a businessman, John Ofuduwa, to the community. They shot him in the head, abducted a woman identified as Tomilola Oladehinde from the entrance of her home, and injured two others, including an 11-year-old girl. Just weeks later, on February 20, 2026, the community was again under attack as gunmen stormed Olaribigba Estate and kidnapped a couple, Mr. Jamiu Olawale and his wife, with a neighbour, Patrick Ilumaro, shot in the process.
The pattern of the attack is consistent and deeply troubling for residents of the community, as the gunmen unusually operate with impunity, often spending 15 to 30 minutes in communities, firing sporadically, abducting victims, and melting back into the forests. Case after case, residents disclosed that no security team arrived during the attacks. According to the communities, the response, when it comes, arrives after the gunmen have departed; a reality that has left communities feeling abandoned.
Brazen Attack on Traditional Ruler
Perhaps, the most brazen attack occurred on February 18, 2026, when gunmen invaded the palace of the late Oba Kehinde Falodun, the traditional ruler of the Agamo community in Akure North, and brutally murdered him. According to the wife of the deceased, when bullets failed to penetrate the Oba's body, the gunmen, numbering about 10, beat him to death with weapons and dragged his body outside the palace, with the monarch's daughter revealing that the attackers spoke Hausa and were dressed like herders.
Similarly, the secretary of Okeluju Local Council Development Area under Akoko North West Local Council Area of the state, Joseph Aladesuyi, was abducted from his farm in Ilu-Abo along with two others on March 9. The farm is less than five kilometres from Akure Airport.
Violence Spreads Beyond Akure North
The violence has not been confined to only Akure North, as gunmen on February 25, 2026, abducted six worshippers from a Celestial Church in Uso, Owo Local Council, during an early morning service. The kidnappers demanded N100 million ransom and the victims were released after a week, only after families reportedly paid for their freedom. In Isua, headquarters of Akoko South East Local Council, along the boundary with Edo State, a popular youth leader, Ojo Abbey, popularly known as Obesere, was abducted on February 22 and was later found dead in a forest in Igara, Edo State, his body already decomposing. On March 4, a farmer, Ben Daniels, was killed by gunmen in Ayede Ogbese while a housewife was kidnapped and her husband, Daniel Adesida, was shot after gunmen invaded Ogunti Camp in Oda, Akure South.
Economic and Social Impact
Meanwhile, the incessant attacks have in no small measure affected the socio-economic fabric of affected communities. In Eleyewo, Ilu-Abo, Ayede, and other embattled communities, shops that once remained open until 10 p.m. now bolt their doors by 7:30 or 8:00 p.m., thereby, collapsing the evening economy of the communities and truncating transactions that sustain families within the axis. The effect of the attacks extends beyond the immediate communities, with adjoining and neighbouring towns witnessing the pattern of violence creeping closer and thereby adopting similar precautions, with the ripple effect creating a climate of preemptive fear that stifles commerce and community life.
With the attacks also taking their toll on farmers, who can no longer tend their farms, Oba Olu Falae, the traditional ruler of the Ilu-Abo community and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, lamented that the kidnappers appear to be targeting wealthy residents who relocated to the community over the past decade because of its reputation for peace and stable electricity supply. Falae also lamented the economic impact of the insecurity, noting that many residents are now afraid to visit their farms, saying cocoa plantations and poultry operations, which are the key sources of livelihood in the area, have been abandoned owing to fear of abduction.
“People are afraid to go to the farm. Our hard-working residents cannot continue to live in fear; otherwise, we risk becoming beggars and food insecure. I am certain that the law will not abandon us and security agencies will not fold their arms. With determination, training and strategic action, we will rescue our people and safeguard our heritage,” Falae stated.
The development had also led some families, which have been targets of the gunmen, to make the heartbreaking decision to flee entirely, as two victims of recent kidnappings in the state have put their homes up for sale and are unable to return to communities where they were seized from their own doorsteps. One of the victims, who spoke on condition of anonymity while narrating the psychological toll, stated: “Every night, I relive those moments. The voices always play in my mind, particularly the cold metal of the gun against my neck, which has refused to go away. How can I raise my children in a place where I was dragged from my own home? The walls remind me of my helplessness. I cannot stay. I cannot heal here,” she stated.
For those who remain, life has become a study in survival tactics. Children are withdrawn from schools at the slightest rumour of an attack. Parents rush to educational institutions, their faces etched with fear, clutching their children's hands as they flee. The right to education, that fundamental building block of future prosperity, is being sacrificed on the altar of insecurity.
Official Response and Contradictions
Meanwhile, the most perplexing aspect of Ondo's security crisis for most residents of the state, particularly the affected victims, is the official response to the crisis, as Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has repeatedly insisted that there are no bandits operating in the state. Following the wave of attacks, he characterised the situation as ‘isolated cases’ and pointed to the 2022 Owo Catholic Church massacre as the last bandit attack witnessed in the state. Also, the Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, adopted a similar stance when he pointedly stated that “we don't have bandits in Ondo State. We have criminals, not bandits.”
However, the positions of Aiyedatiwa and the police boss in the state contradict that of the Federal Government, which had in December 2025 classified all armed groups, including bandits and kidnappers, as terrorists, with the stance expanded to include financiers, ransom negotiators, informants, suppliers, and even traditional or religious leaders who facilitate or cover up violent activities. In some quarters, the governor's refusal to personally visit affected communities has compounded the sense of abandonment. Despite repeated protests, including the dramatic March 10 barricade of the Akure-Owo highway with victims' corpses, Aiyedatiwa has not set foot in the embattled communities. The residents express frustration that the governor has not looked them in the eye by assuring them of his commitment or demonstrating visible empathy for their suffering.
Call for Technological Upgrades
For security experts, the absence of surveillance drones in the state's security architecture has become a glaring vulnerability, stressing that in an era where criminals use mobile phones and intelligence to identify targets, the state's security agencies largely rely on foot patrols and conventional vehicles. Before his deployment from the state, former Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, made an urgent appeal to Aiyedatiwa to provide surveillance drones and trackers to enhance the state's crime-fighting capabilities. According to a security expert based in Akure, Jide Aminu, “The world has moved beyond conventional methods. Criminals use technology to scout targets, communicate securely, and evade capture. If we respond with personnel on foot and outdated vehicles, we will always be one step behind. Technology is not a luxury; it is the minimum requirement for effective policing.”
