Amid growing concerns over banditry, kidnapping and violent crimes, the South-West geopolitical zone is increasingly mobilising political will, regional cooperation and community-based strategies to prevent insecurity from taking root in the zone.
Recent developments across the region point to a coordinated push by state governments, lawmakers, traditional institutions and civil society groups to strengthen security architecture and safeguard farmlands, highways and urban centres. At the heart of this effort is a shared recognition that insecurity, if left unchecked, poses not only a threat to lives but also to economic stability and food security.
This resolve was evident at the South-West Zonal Security Summit held in November in Ikeja, Lagos, where stakeholders from across the region converged to discuss rising insecurity challenges.
The summit, organised by the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on National Security, in collaboration with the Lagos State Government, provided a platform for frank discussions on the changing security landscape and the need for indigenous solutions tailored to local realities.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented at the event by the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Dr Ayodele Ogunsan, emphasised the importance of a regional security framework anchored on intelligence, technology and community participation. Central to this framework is the strengthening of the Amotekun Corps into a more unified, well-equipped and technology-driven outfit capable of cross-border intelligence sharing and joint operations among South-West states.
“As governors of this region, we must reaffirm our commitment to a regional security framework, which includes transforming Amotekun into a more unified, well-equipped, technology-driven command that can facilitate cross-state intelligence sharing and joint operations. Our traditional institutions – our Obas and community leaders – must remain central to this framework, as no one knows the heartbeat of local communities better than they do,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“Security is not just about keeping the peace; it is about ensuring our economic survival. When insecurity disrupts markets, farmlands, transportation, and investment, our GDP takes a hit, livelihoods crumble, and growth stalls. A region that cannot promise safety cannot promise prosperity either. That is why our strategy needs to be proactive, driven by intelligence, and deeply embedded in community involvement.
“We need to strengthen our early-warning systems, enhance surveillance capabilities, and maintain open lines of communication with youth groups, farmers, transport unions, and local vigilante networks, all while renewing our partnership with civil society,” he added.
Sanwo-Olu’s position reflects a broader regional consensus that security can no longer be addressed in isolation by individual states. With criminal networks exploiting state boundaries and forest corridors, governors and security chiefs are increasingly prioritising collaboration, early-warning systems and shared surveillance infrastructure.
The urgency of this approach has been reinforced by warnings from socio-political groups such as Yoruba for Democratic Values, which recently raised alarm over farmers abandoning their farmlands due to persistent attacks by bandits and criminal herders.
According to the group, forest reserves across Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ogun and parts of Kwara have become sanctuaries for armed groups, forcing rural communities to flee and disrupting agricultural production.
These developments have serious economic implications. The South-West, long regarded as a stable agricultural and commercial hub, supplies significant quantities of staple crops to local and national markets.
Continued insecurity in farming communities risks deepening food shortages, inflating prices and undermining livelihoods, making security an economic imperative as much as a safety concern.
“The South West has historically been a heartland of agriculture, trade, and culture. The region’s farmlands produce staples such as yams, cassava, plantains, and rice. The invasion of herders, bandits, and criminal herding networks is already undermining this agricultural productivity: some farmers have abandoned their fields, citing insecurity.
“This is deeply worrying: a sustained security threat in the Southwest would not only disrupt food production (risking local and national food supply) but also destabilise a region that has long contributed to Nigeria’s economic wellbeing. For decades, Yoruba lands have enjoyed relative peace; to allow this to be undermined is to threaten both the social and economic foundations of the region,” YDV said in a statement.
At the legislative level, the Senate has also stepped up engagement. Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, who chairs the South-West zonal hearings of the Senate’s Ad-hoc Committee on National Security, warned that while the region has so far avoided large-scale terrorism, the steady rise in banditry, kidnappings and violent crimes signals an emerging threat that demands proactive action.
“Our villages and farmlands have come under increasing threat; farmer-herder clashes have been on the increase, our highways have seen more daring incidents, and the disturbing spread of armed groups such as the reported Lakurawa incursion into parts of Kwara and Kogi underscores the urgent need for proactive measures. If decisive action is not taken, the danger could spill fully into the South-West geo- political zone.
“We must not allow the South-West to become a sanctuary for criminality or a battleground for those who seek to destabilise our nation. We must use every resource – human, material and technological – to defend our communities,” Abiru said.
His remarks underscored fears that criminal elements displaced from other regions could increasingly target the South-West if preventive measures are not intensified.
Beyond dialogue, South-West governors are translating concern into concrete policy steps.
The Southwest Governors’ Forum recently resolved to establish a dedicated Southwest Security Fund, to be domiciled under the DAWN Commission, aimed at pooling resources for regional security operations. The governors also agreed to deploy a live digital intelligence-sharing system to enable real-time threat alerts, incident reporting and rapid inter-state response.
Attention is also being focused on reclaiming forest belts, which have become critical enablers of criminal activity. The governors have called for the deployment of forest guards across the region, with states providing personnel support, while commending the efforts of Amotekun, local hunters, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other agencies already operating in difficult terrain.
Another recurring theme in the South-West’s security conversation is the renewed push for state policing.
Governors and stakeholders argue that locally controlled police forces would improve response times, deepen community trust and enhance intelligence gathering. In their view, state police have moved from being a constitutional debate to an operational necessity in the face of evolving security threats.
“The Forum agreed to set up a South West Security Fund (SWSF) under the DAWN Commission to be administered by the Forum of Special Advisers on Security of all South West States and to meet monthly,” the communique read.
“The forum expresses deep concern about the unregulated interstate migration that continues to pose significant challenges across the Southwest. The forum calls for stricter border monitoring, data collection and self-identification and for each Southwest state to work with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for proper identification. The forum agrees to intensify security collaboration to ensure that interstate migration does not become a conduit for insecurity.”
Underlying these initiatives is a strong emphasis on community involvement. Traditional rulers, farmers’ associations, transport unions and youth groups are increasingly being recognised as critical partners in intelligence gathering and early-warning systems.
This is a reflection that security cannot be sustained by force alone but must be rooted in trust and local ownership.
Just last week, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, urged Yoruba people to remain vigilant.
“Let me use this occasion to urge Yoruba people to be vigilant amid security challenges facing Nigeria,” the monarch said, according to a statement by his Media Aide, Adeola Oloko.
Collectively, these measures suggest that the South-West is seeking to act before insecurity becomes entrenched.
By combining regional cooperation, technological investment, community engagement and institutional reforms, the zone appears determined to defend its territory, protect its economic base and preserve the relative stability for which it has long been known.
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