No Negotiation With Bandits, Oyo Lawmakers Insist
The Oyo State House of Assembly on Wednesday firmly rejected mounting public calls urging the state government to open negotiations with the bandits responsible for the deadly May 15, 2026 coordinated attack on Ahoro-Esiele in Oriire Local Government Area, instead demanding intensified rescue operations and a permanent military presence in the troubled axis.
The resolution emerged from a motion of urgent public importance moved by the lawmaker representing Oriire State Constituency, Johnson Ogundele, during plenary shortly after the House resumed from the Eid-el-Kabir recess. The motion painted a sobering picture of an area sliding deeper into criminal control.
Presenting the motion, Ogundele recounted how bandits stormed Ahoro-Esiele, Oyo and Yawota communities during school hours, killing a teacher, a student and an okada rider, while abducting dozens of pupils, students and teachers. He noted that Oriire had witnessed a steady escalation of bandit activity since January 2026, citing an earlier assault on the National Park Service office at Oloka village where five forest guards were killed.
“Let me use this period to call on Governor Seyi Makinde for his swift response, deployment of security operatives, rescue efforts and personal visit to the affected communities,” Ogundele stated, urging the establishment of a permanent military base around vulnerable communities and forest corridors.
Seconding the motion, Majority Leader Sanjo Adedoyin (Ogbomoso South) revived calls for state police, arguing that recent rescue operations had exposed the limitations of conventional security agencies in navigating dense forest terrain. He noted that operatives had increasingly depended on local vigilantes and the Western Nigeria Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, to access difficult areas.
Gbenga Oyekola (Atiba) attributed part of the crisis to poor federal management of the vast forest reserve spanning Oyo and neighbouring states, while flagging unverified reports of mining activities and helicopter movements within the reserve. Dawood Olalere (Ibadan North West) warned that kidnapping had spread beyond forest zones, citing the same day abduction of the sister and two nephews of former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, as proof of the widening threat.
The Assembly also directed the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the State Universal Basic Education Board to conduct urgent security audits of schools located near forests and border settlements. Lawmakers called for the installation of solar powered security lights, perimeter fencing and CCTV cameras in vulnerable schools, alongside a comprehensive Safe School Emergency Response Protocol.
Additional resolutions included a call on the Federal Ministry of Defence to establish a permanent military base in Oriire LGA, trauma counselling for victims’ families through the Oyo State Emergency Management Agency, and an oversight visit to the area by the House Committee on Security and Strategy.
Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin closed the debate with an unequivocal rejection of negotiation. “Such a move could embolden criminal elements and encourage further attacks,” he warned, insisting that sustained security operations, intelligence gathering and coordinated rescue missions remain the only acceptable path to securing the captives’ release.