Nollywood actor Lateef Adedimeji has expressed deep concern over the escalating insecurity in Nigeria, particularly noting that violence has now breached the borders of the Southwest region, transforming it into a landscape of fear. He highlighted incidents such as the mass abduction and tragic killing of an educator in Oyo State, as well as the increasingly dangerous highways in Ekiti, Ondo, and Ogun states, as evidence that the normalisation of terror is taking root.
Adedimeji questioned the effectiveness of security measures, pointing out that in 2025, Amotekun Commanders across the Southwest collectively stated that the region's forests would never be allowed to serve as permanent hideouts for criminals. Additionally, the Southwest Governors' Forum claimed there was no empirical evidence of bandits in the region, though security measures were being strengthened. The actor asked how heavily armed bandits could penetrate these guarded corridors so deeply, rendering spaces unsafe for everyday citizens.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Adedimeji reminded the executive governors of the region of their title as 'Chief Security Officer', urging them to treat this role with seriousness rather than as a mere protocol ornament. He emphasised that governors are bound by a sacred constitutional covenant to protect the lives and livelihoods of their people. He called for actions beyond standard press releases of condemnation and reactive condolences, stating that when citizens cannot farm, travel, or send their children to school without the threat of death, the fundamental contract between government and governed is broken.
Adedimeji demanded immediate, proactive coordination, insisting that governors must take absolute charge of internal security by engaging with state Commissioners of Police and the Inspector-General of Police, as well as opening other necessary channels. He advocated for a unified front involving the police, military, local security outfits, and indigenous intelligence networks to systematically secure forests from external forces. He concluded by noting that history will judge leaders not by the infrastructure they build, but by how fiercely and effectively they unite these forces to defend human lives.
