The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has urged governors in the South-West to equip the Western Nigeria Security Network, Amotekun, with modern weapons and surveillance technology to strengthen the fight against kidnapping and other violent crimes across the region.

The organisation made the call amid growing concerns over abductions along major highways and attacks on rural communities, including the recent kidnapping of travellers along the Ijebu-Ode–Ibadan Road in Ogun State.

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In a statement issued in Ibadan on Wednesday, Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, said the organisation was concerned about the security situation and the reported ransom demand of ₦25m for the abducted travellers.

Although the organisation expressed relief that the victims had reportedly been rescued or released, it said the incidents showed that more needed to be done to protect residents and travellers.

Ajayi called on South-West governments to acquire high-grade weapons for Amotekun personnel, arguing that the security outfit needed sufficient firepower to confront armed criminals.

He also proposed integrating official security agencies and local security outfits into tactical teams for coordinated patrols of forests, woodlands and other areas vulnerable to criminal activity.

The organisation urged governments to deploy drones, modern communication equipment and rapid-response systems to improve surveillance of forests and border communities.

It further called for greater financial autonomy for local government councils, saying this would enable them to support grassroots security operations and maintain regular patrols in vulnerable rural areas.

Beyond security operations, Afenifere recommended mechanised farming and youth vocational programmes to create employment opportunities and reduce the vulnerability of young people to criminal recruitment.

It also called for strict enforcement of judicial penalties for banditry and violent crimes, alongside effective community reporting systems through which residents could promptly alert ward leaders, traditional rulers and security agencies to suspicious activities.

The organisation said traditional rulers, including Obas and Baales, community leaders and security agencies should work together to coordinate neighbourhood watch groups, monitor new arrivals in rural settlements and establish local early-warning systems.

Afenifere cited several recent security incidents across the South-West and neighbouring states, including the abduction of Dapo, a former National Youth Service Corps member who had recently completed his service in Edo State.

It said the incident came weeks after prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan were abducted in Imo State on October 1, 2026.

The organisation also recalled an abduction at the Forest Research Institute of Nigeria, located along the Ibadan–Ijebu-Ode highway, noting that a similar incident had occurred at the same location months earlier.

Other cases listed in the statement included the killing of a farmer in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State, the kidnapping of Prince Michael Folarin in Igbeti, the abduction of 33-year-old poultry farmer Ooreoluwa Osonuga in Ogun State and the kidnapping of Honourable Debo Farounbi in Ora, Osun State.

Afenifere also pointed to reported kidnappings in parts of Kwara, Kogi and Niger states, arguing that the security challenges required coordinated intervention by federal and state governments, security agencies and local communities.

Ajayi acknowledged existing regional security initiatives, including Operation Kosaye, launched by the Ogun and Lagos State governments, as well as security arrangements involving Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states.

He also referenced joint security meetings held by governors in the region, including a meeting in Ibadan on November 25, 2025.

However, he said the continued occurrence of kidnappings showed that existing interventions had not sufficiently addressed the problem.

“While these efforts are acknowledged, the fact that insecurity, particularly kidnapping, persists on our land suggests that current measures are not enough,” the organisation said.

Afenifere also linked the wider security challenge to social and economic conditions, citing recent warnings by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, about the security implications of the large number of out-of-school children in Northern Nigeria.

The Sultan had reportedly raised the issue at a Barewa Old Boys’ Association lecture in Gombe, warning that vulnerable children could become targets for criminal recruitment.

Afenifere recalled his earlier remarks at a December 2024 graduation ceremony involving 1,897 Almajiri pupils and 1,087 out-of-school adolescent girls at the Sultan Maccido Institute of Quranic and General Studies in Sokoto.

The organisation said the Sultan had highlighted the vulnerability of children neglected under the Almajiri system and urged traditional rulers to discourage street begging.

It consequently called on governments at all levels to prioritise public education and introduce welfare programmes that would bring children off the streets and reduce the risk of their recruitment into criminal activities.

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Afenifere maintained that tackling insecurity in the South-West would require more than isolated security operations, urging authorities to combine better-equipped security personnel with intelligence gathering, community participation, education and economic opportunities.