Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has directed security agencies to intensify patrols across communities and forest corridors, as the state government moves to prevent further criminal attacks and reassure residents of their safety.
The governor said the order formed part of immediate measures taken to strengthen coordination among security agencies, following reports of a violent incident that unsettled residents and disrupted normal activities in one of the state’s agrarian communities.
Aiyedatiwa noted that security operatives were already active across the state, including joint task force personnel and members of the Amotekun Corps, stressing that proactive surveillance and rapid response remained critical to sustaining public confidence.
The directive was issued on Thursday during an emergency meeting with security chiefs at the Government House in Akure, convened after gunmen attacked Ipele-Owo community in Owo Local Government Area on Wednesday night, New Year’s Eve, while many residents attended crossover services.
According to eyewitness accounts, about 20 armed attackers stormed the community around 10 p.m., firing sporadically and setting the local police divisional station ablaze, forcing residents and officers to flee amid panic.
“It was a terrorist-like attack. The attackers, numbering about 20, came into the Ipele community in a commando style and began to shoot sporadically,” an eyewitness said.
Speaking after the meeting, Aiyedatiwa said he immediately contacted police authorities and the Nigerian Army brigade commander after receiving the report, adding that swift deployment ensured the attackers, who discharged an explosive, did not cause casualties.
“Their rapid mobilisation ensured that the attackers, who gained access to the police station and discharged an explosive, were unable to harm anyone,” he said, confirming that no life was lost and only the police station was damaged.
Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, said the emergency meeting involved the police, military, DSS, Civil Defence and Amotekun, and focused on tracking the perpetrators, while dismissing claims of casualties or church attacks. “It is too early to conclude that they were terrorists,” Lawal said, urging residents to remain calm as investigations continue.
