A member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Anthony Ogunsola, has called for a decisive security crackdown following the killing of five Forest Guard officers in an ambush on the National Park Office at Oloka Village in Orire Local Government Area.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Ogunsola, who represents Iwajowa State Constituency, described the attack as a grave assault on public safety and condemned what he termed rising cross-border banditry in the area.
“This cross-border banditry is an affront to our sovereignty,” he said, urging security agencies to intensify operations, track the perpetrators and dismantle their bases. “We will not surrender Iwajowa to criminals.”
The lawmaker warned residents to remain vigilant, noting that Iwajowa shares a boundary with the Ayegun/Wasinmi border community, a known transit point linking Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.
“I urge residents to be extra watchful of suspicious movements. Every strange face or activity must be reported immediately,” he said.
Expressing sympathy with the families of the slain officers, Ogunsola described them as heroes who died protecting the state’s natural resources and stressed the importance of community cooperation in ongoing investigations.
“Security is a shared responsibility. I appeal to our people to provide the intelligence needed to bring these perpetrators to justice,” he added.
He pledged full support for the state government and security agencies in efforts to restore calm and prevent a recurrence of the attack.
Ogunsola also reaffirmed the commitment of the Oyo State House of Assembly to backing policies that strengthen the state’s security framework and enhance collaboration among security agencies.
The attack occurred near Old Oyo National Park, a vast forest reserve covering about 2,512 square kilometres across several local government areas, including Iwajowa, an area that has faced security challenges due to its proximity to Nigeria’s western border.