Bandits Threaten Oyo Town With Fresh Attack

There is growing anxiety among residents of Ikoyi-Ile town in Oyo State following an alleged plan by suspected bandits to launch an attack on the community.

Ikoyi-Ile is one of the towns in Oriire Local Government Area, the same council where five persons were reportedly killed a few days earlier.

Some gunmen believed to be bandits reportedly opened fire and killed five individuals at the old Oyo National Park situated in Oloka village, Oriire Local Government Area, on Tuesday.

Fresh details emerging indicate that the suspected bandits allegedly informed residents that the attack would take place on Tuesday, 20 January this year.

The information was reportedly contained in two separate notes said to have been written by the bandits.

The notes were allegedly dropped at both the front and rear of a building within the town.

One of the handwritten notes, written in the Yoruba language and bearing neither an address nor a signature, was titled, “Lati Odo Bandit”.

See the photo below:

Bandits stepped up attacks across several communities in northern Nigeria towards the end of 2025. Their activities were also recorded in parts of Kogi and Kwara states, where many people were killed or abducted.

In response to the rising banditry concerns, governors in the South West convened an emergency security meeting last year.