Southern Shield: How Governors, Chiefs & Hunters Are Racing To Stop Northern Bandits
By DAVID JOHN-FLUKE
ACROSS the southern belt — from Oyo’s dense forests to the mangrove labyrinth of the Niger Delta — a new and unsettling reality has taken hold: bandit groups that once operated mainly in the North are pushing further south, probing borderlands, and testing weakly policed corridors. Investigations show these incursions now touch strategic frontier points in Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Niger and parts of Edo, forcing southern states into an unprecedented security scramble.
This report examines how state governments, traditional authorities and community security forces are responding — blending modern surveillance, revived hunter networks, legislative steps and tighter inter-agency cooperation — to prevent the bandits from gaining a foothold.
The widening front and the urgent response
Officials and security sources describe bandit activity as fluid and adaptive. Once confined largely to the Sahel and Middle Belt, raiding parties and transient armed migrants are moving southward, exploiting porous borders, forest cover and poorly monitored waterways.
Recognising the threat, South-West governors convened an emergency meeting in Ibadan to harmonise responses. The outcome: an insistence on proactive patrols, faster intelligence sharing, and coordinated deployment of both state forces and non-state security actors — Amotekun, hunters and community vigilantes — to cover deep forests and border sectors that regular police units cannot effectively patrol alone.
State leaders emphasised prevention, not reaction. The message was clear: seal entry points, detect suspicious settlement early, and deny bandits a chance to settle.
Jurisdictional gaps and the call for unified intelligence
The Southern Governors Forum publicly backed intensified policing and cross-state collaboration. Governors urged tightened protocols for exchanging intelligence across all 17 southern states, warning that criminals exploit inter-state blind spots. Traditional rulers in the South-West pledged to mobilise local networks for early warning and community patrols, adding local knowledge of terrain to formal security efforts.
To create layered defences, traditional councils have launched night watches, registration rules for new settlers, and local reporting channels aimed at complementing police and Amotekun operations.
State-by-state responses (what’s being done on the ground)
Ondo — “Operation Le Won Jade”: aggressive forest security
Ondo moved swiftly after credible reports that bandits fleeing Kogi and Niger aimed to use its rugged forests as routes. The state reopened border posts, deployed licensed hunters and forest guards, intensified joint patrols, and began recruiting 500 new Amotekun operatives. Police say intelligence-led raids and covert deployments are now routine; Amotekun reports regular interdictions and continuous patrols across the 18 LGAs.
Ekiti — bolstering manpower and visible deterrence
Ekiti, long viewed as relatively secure, has expanded surveillance and recruited more community operatives. Security advisers insist there have been no confirmed gun battles, but the state has not been complacent: hundreds of new operatives, patrol vehicles and integrated agency meetings keep the county on high alert. Governor Oyebanji even issued an ultimatum to non-indigenes illegally occupying disputed farmland over fears criminals could embed themselves there.
Ogun — ID checks, forest clearance and strategic bases
Ogun’s approach centres on documentation of foreign nationals, regulation of illegal mining and forest clearances. The state plans a Forward Operating Base in Ilara to monitor a key passage from the North. Authorities have also warned landlords against harbouring unverified tenants and are conducting coordinated raids in border communities.
Oyo — hunters, drones and community intelligence
Oyo is deploying traditional hunters into deep bushlands around Igboho, Igbeti and Saki East after reports of strange faces in the forest. The hunter strategy sits alongside drone surveillance, CCTV expansion, reinforced Amotekun patrols and tightened checkpoints. State security officials stress the goal is early detection rather than late reaction.
Enugu — drones, revamped forest guards and mapped trails
Enugu has leaned into technology, flying drones to map migration trails and suspected hideouts between Nkanu and Udi. Its Forest Guard Service has been restructured, and joint patrols with police and army units are now routine. Officials say the drone mapping has identified routes used by itinerant armed groups fleeing pressure from Plateau and Benue.
Anambra — waterways and riverine defences
Authorities in Anambra are concentrating on the Omambala–Otuocha corridor and river channels around Ogbaru, increasing marine patrols and nocturnal highway checks. The state’s Joint Task Force now runs coordinated intelligence-sharing with local vigilantes to prevent riverborne infiltration.
Imo — sealing the Orlu forest belt
Imo reinforced security positions along Orlu and Orsu, closing abandoned forest tracks and converting them into monitored routes. Security bases were established to prevent transient armed groups from settling in forest pockets.
Ebonyi — rural surveillance networks
Ebonyi’s rural surveillance links town unions and traditional rulers directly to the security command. Early results, officials say, include actionable intelligence that led to targeted raids and arrests in border zones prone to illicit settlement.
Abia — checkpoints and aerial monitoring
Abia restored layered road checkpoints along the Umuahia–Uturu–Okigwe axis and launched mobile airborne surveillance to detect gatherings in forested enclaves. Community watchers now feed suspicious movement reports into a central command.
Rivers — intelligence integration and marine reinforcement
Rivers updated its C4i intelligence platform to integrate drone feeds and expanded anti-kidnap detachments. Marine units now secure creek routes; vigilante groups are on 24/7 alert, reporting minute movements to security centres.
Delta — reconnaissance and marine patrols
Delta authorised aggressive forest reconnaissance after reports of unfamiliar footprints in Ndokwa. Marine patrols around Bomadi and Patani increased to prevent creek landings; officials insist no new group will be allowed to establish camps.
Cross River — joint patrols and national park buffers
Cross River intensified joint military-police patrols in the Oban corridor, integrated community rangers into command chains and expanded off-road logistics to navigate tough terrain, boosting patrols by nearly 40 percent in a month.
Bayelsa — gunboats, jetty closures and creek monitoring
Bayelsa focused on maritime measures: commissioning new gunboats, closing illegal jetties in Yenagoa and Ogbia, and mapping makeshift swamp camps. The emphasis is clear — stop migrants at sea before they reach hinterlands.
Edo — reorganised vigilantes and rapid response
Edo tightened its local vigilante structure and launched rapid-response patrols in vulnerable forest enclaves like Ibillo and Igarra. Checkpoints along major bypasses were reactivated to block possible southern advances.
Akwa Ibom — stakeholder engagement and fake-news countermeasures
Akwa Ibom’s police command held wide stakeholder meetings to counter misinformation and to strengthen on-ground patrols, cautioning residents against viral security rumours. The CP also issued directives to sustain surveillance and operational readiness across LGAs.
A tactical mosaic — not a single blueprint
What emerges across these states is a mosaic of tactics: drones and CCTV, increased marine patrols, revitalised hunter squads, community intelligence networks, new recruits and legal measures to identify and remove suspicious settlers. Governors stress co-operation between formal agencies and local actors — because the forests, creeks and borderlands cannot be secured by police alone.
Yet risks remain. Criminal groups are adaptive, and jurisdictional weaknesses persist. The call from southern governors for standardised information-sharing and coordinated command-and-control is not merely administrative; many officials view it as essential to prevent the establishment of permanent criminal camps in the South.
For now, the South is mobilising. The coming months will test whether layered, locally aware, intelligence-driven responses can deny bandits the sanctuary they seek — or whether porous borders and stretched security resources will allow new enclaves to take root. The stakes are high: the safety of communities, the security of vital economic corridors and the stability of an increasingly strained national fabric.
