Nigeria woke up to an unexpected security scare on Tuesday after five officers of the National Park Service were killed in Oyo State.
The officers were attacked by suspected bandits at the National Park Office in Oloka Village, Orire Local Government Area.
Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed the incident on Wednesday, describing it as a painful and shocking development.
He said the officers were carrying out their lawful duties when the deadly assault happened.
In a statement shared on his official Facebook page, the governor called the incident a “devastating loss.”
The news has raised fresh concerns about growing bandit activities near border communities in the South-west.
According to Makinde, early findings by security agencies suggest the attack was cross-border in nature.
He explained that the assailants were armed bandits believed to have entered from neighbouring regions.
However, the governor assured residents that the situation was now under control.
He said security agencies had restored calm and deployed more personnel to the affected areas.
“Let me appeal to residents of Oyo State, especially those in Oriire LGA and other LGAs along our borders, to remain calm as the security agencies have restored normalcy and deployed more personnel to the area,” he stated.
“Our administration will leave no stone unturned to respond decisively to prevent a recurrence of such attacks,” he added.
Meanwhile, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the attackers struck around 9 p.m. on Tuesday. They stormed the National Park Service office inside the Old Oyo National Park and overwhelmed officers on duty.
The Park Conservator, Tesleem Kareem, confirmed that several personnel were killed, while others were injured.
Moreover, he disclosed that some bodies had not yet been recovered.
They were believed to be deep inside the surrounding forest.
In addition, the Oyo State Police Command confirmed the attack in a separate update.
The Commissioner of Police was said to have deployed tactical teams, mobile police units, and explosives experts.
As of the time of reporting, the attackers had not been identified.
Their motive also remained unclear, according to the police.
Reports show that bandits pushed out of North-west Nigeria are moving southward.
These groups are said to be using forest corridors in Kwara and Niger states as escape routes. Therefore, their closeness to southern states like Oyo has raised serious alarm.
Furthermore, South-west governors have renewed calls for better intelligence sharing.
They believe stronger cooperation between agencies will help stop the spread of violence.
