Yoruba Leaders Declare Emergency on Regional Security, Demand State Police and Coordinated Action at Lagos Summit

A powerful coalition of Yoruba leaders, traditional rulers, security experts, scholars, and regional organisations convened in Lagos for the Security Stakeholders Summit, where they delivered an urgent unified call for decisive action against the escalating wave of insecurity, kidnapping, and violent extremism across Yorubaland.

The summit, hosted by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, brought together over 33 organisations at the 10 Degrees Event Centre in Ikeja. The gathering marked what many participants described as “a turning point in the struggle for regional safety and stability.”

Aare Adams: “Yorubaland will not fall”

Addressing a tense audience, Aare Gani Adams delivered a blunt assessment of the security crisis gripping the region. Since assuming office in 2018, he said he has consistently warned political leaders about growing threats, but these warnings were largely ignored—until the danger reached a national breaking point.

Armed groups now infiltrate Yoruba communities with disturbing ease, he noted, while borders in Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, and Kogi have become unsafe. Even the Federal Capital Territory is no longer shielded from the growing threat.

“No nation prospers when its citizens are hunted like endangered species,” he said. “Farmers cannot farm, communities cannot sleep, and the economy is bleeding daily.”

Adams renewed his call for urgent restructuring, arguing that states must be empowered with constitutional authority to secure their own people.

At the centre of his message was a powerful demand for state police, insisting that the Nigeria Police Force is overstretched and incapable of protecting all regions effectively.

“Until we establish state police backed by law and strengthened like Amotekun should be, Yorubaland remains vulnerable,” he warned.

He ended with a firm declaration of resolve:

“Yorubaland will not fall. Oodua a gbe wa o.”

Prof. Anthony Kila: “Insecurity is a malicious tenant—confront it or it takes over.”

In another keynote address, Professor Anthony Kila praised the summit as a historic moment of collective responsibility. He defined Yorubaland not just as a political zone but as a cultural civilisation stretching across the South-West and extending into Kwara, Kogi, and parts of Delta State.

He lamented the rise in kidnappings, assaults on farmers, and declining public trust, warning that “a society that cannot protect its farms, factories, and roads is a failing society.”

Kila presented a 10-point security agenda, calling for:

A revitalised community intelligence network

Professionalised and standardised Amotekun operations

Decentralised policing (“Nigeria cannot be secured from Abuja”)

Drone-aided highway and farmland security

Modern forensic and data-driven investigations

Youth empowerment as crime prevention

Strategic engagement of retired security professionals

Stronger security leadership by state governors

A Yoruba Security Ethos built on identity and unity

“Insecurity is not stronger than us,” he said. “It only grows when we act separately.”

Kidnapping: A Core Threat Undermining Safety and Identity

Speakers also highlighted kidnapping as one of the most severe threats to personal liberty and regional security. Kidnapping typically involves involuntary seizure, forced detention, and transportation—a triad of elements recognised even by the U.S. Department of Justice, which emphasises them in the absence of a single formal definition.

Whether motivated by ransom, political leverage, information extraction, or other unlawful purposes, kidnapping remains a direct attack on freedom and human dignity.

Participants noted that kidnappings in Yorubaland now serve broader criminal and ideological objectives, including financing terrorism and facilitating illegal occupation of ancestral lands.

 

The Communiqué Issued at the end of the Security Stakeholder Summit Themed: “Toward a United Front Against Insecurity in Yorubaland.”

Speakers at the event include Prof. Anthony Kila, a Professor of Strategy and Development, Economics and Security; Mr Abiodun Ramon Oseni, a former US Police Officer and US Army veteran, who specialises in International Security at the American Military University; and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Barr. Joki Lasisi (Retd.).

Participants at the summit included notable traditional rulers from different states across Yorubaland such as Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Kwara and Kogi States, religious leaders, security experts and analysts, politicians, academics, and numerous members of socio-political and Yoruba self-determination groups.

Among the dignitaries were President of Yoruba Unity Forum, Arch Bishop Ayo Ladigbolu (Emeritus), Senator Anthony Adefuye, the Chief Imam of Yorubaland, Sheik Abdulraheem Aduramigba, representative of the Itsekiri Omoluabi Forum, Dr. Patrick Doyle; the Ayedero of Yorubaland, Hon. Shina Peller; Chief (Mrs.) Bola Doherty, MFR; and Dr Oluwayomi Atte.

Key Observations from the Communiqué

The summit identified critical drivers of insecurity, including:

Expansion of jihadist elements across sub-Saharan West Africa

Kidnapping and banditry used for terrorism financing and territorial domination

Failure of effective nation-building due to weak federal structure

Declining education levels in the North fueling extremism

Over-centralisation of policing and corruption within public institutions

Porous borders and infiltration of the security services

Major Resolutions Adopted

Delegates unanimously endorsed sweeping security reforms, including:

1. Establishment of State Police Across Yorubaland

Recruitment would prioritise local intelligence, cultural understanding, and proven competence.

2. Deployment of Modern Technology

Use of drones, UAVs, surveillance systems, and data-driven intelligence alongside traditional community-rooted methods.

3. Creation of a Global Yoruba Volunteer Programme

Enabling diaspora professionals to contribute skills and support.

4. Establishment of a Security Welfare Fund

To boost morale and support frontline operatives.

5. Total Ban on Open Grazing

Cattle movement restricted to vehicles or rail; ranches to be legally established and regulated.

6. Border Fortification

Construction of fences across borders with Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin to block arms flow and terrorist infiltration.

7. Support for Foreign Anti-Terrorism Assistance

Provided Nigeria’s sovereignty remains intact.

8. Stronger Collaboration with Yoruba Communities in Kwara and Kogi

To secure cultural and territorial boundaries.

9. Solidarity with Other Affected Ethnic Groups

Including the Itsekiri as well as indigenous communities in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Bauchi.

10. Call for Restructuring and Constitutional Reform

Especially granting security roles to traditional rulers.

11. Amendment of the 2022 Terrorism Act

Recommending death penalty for kidnappers, sponsors, financiers, and informants.

12. Bi-monthly Intelligence-Sharing Meetings

Among participating organisations for coordinated regional protection.

Adoption of the Communiqué

The communiqué was formally adopted following a motion by Sheikh Abdulraheem Aduanigba, Chief Imam of Yoruba in Ilorin, and seconded by Chief (Mrs.) Bola Doherty.