Suspected bandits have reportedly launched a deadly attack on the Old Oyo National Park, located in the Oke Ogun area of Oyo State.
Sources confirmed that the incident resulted in multiple casualties, although the exact number was initially unclear as of Wednesday.
An eyewitness from Orire Local Government Area told journalists that five park officers were targeted during the attack. According to the source, four of the officers lost their lives, while another sustained severe injuries and is currently receiving medical treatment.
The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed the incident. The command’s spokesperson, Olayinka Ayanlade, said security forces had been mobilised and were heading to the scene.
In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, Ayanlade disclosed that the attackers, whose identities are yet to be established, assaulted personnel of the national park. He added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Femi Haruna, alongside other security chiefs, was en route to the affected area.
He further stated that tactical units, Mobile Police Force operatives, and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team had been deployed to restore calm and prevent further security breaches.
Meanwhile, a Yoruba regional advocacy group, Think Yoruba First (TYF), along with its Political Action Committee, has expressed deep concern over what it described as the escalating spread of terror-like violence across the South-West and neighbouring Yoruba-speaking communities in Kogi and Kwara states.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the group warned that armed groups in the region have evolved from isolated criminal gangs into well-organised networks carrying out coordinated attacks.
The organisation noted that the killings at Old Oyo National Park reinforce long-standing warnings from local communities about increasing insecurity, fuelled by forest hideouts, weak border controls and poor intelligence coordination.
TYF also pointed to a growing insecurity corridor linking South-West states with parts of Kogi West and border areas of Kwara. It cited recent mass kidnappings along the Ondo–Ekiti axis and attacks on places of worship in Kogi as evidence of the attackers’ advanced planning and logistics.
Describing the Oyo Park incident as particularly bold, the group said suspected bandits reportedly killed five security personnel during the operation.
According to TYF, criminal activities in the region have shifted from random attacks to structured, terror-style operations targeting commuters, worshippers, farmers, security operatives and public spaces.
