Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has given suspected kidnappers and other criminal elements operating in the state’s forest reserves 14 days to vacate the areas as the government intensifies efforts to improve security and restore legitimate economic activities in the forests.
The governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Forestry, Bidemi Joshua Obayangban, announced the directive while speaking with journalists in Akure on Wednesday.
Obayangban said the ultimatum was specifically targeted at kidnappers and other criminals allegedly using the forest reserves as hideouts to carry out illegal activities. He said the state government had concluded plans to tackle kidnapping and other criminal activities in the forests.
According to the governor’s aide, security is central to the administration’s plan to develop the forestry sector and create an environment where farmers, investors, timber contractors and other legitimate operators can conduct their activities safely.
He explained that the government’s efforts to revitalise the forestry sector would have limited impact if insecurity continued to prevent legitimate users from accessing the forest reserves.
Obayangban said the administration was therefore working with security agencies and hunters across the state to restore security in the affected areas. He said the collaboration was part of a broader strategy to prevent criminals from using the forests as safe havens.
He added that the government had adopted what he described as a discreet but action-oriented approach to the security situation, while stressing that the administration was determined to reclaim the forests from criminal elements.
“I am using this opportunity to announce that the state government is giving these individuals 14 days to vacate Ondo State forests,” Obayangban said.
He added that failure to comply with the directive would lead to security action against those who remained in the forests.
The ultimatum comes shortly after a joint security operation in Ondo State led to the rescue of two kidnapping victims and the arrest of three suspected members of a kidnapping gang. The operation was carried out along the Ifira-Idoani forest axis, with the police saying the suspects had emerged from their hideout to collect ransom. Security operatives recovered N1.5 million believed to have been brought for the ransom payment.
The police said the operation involved personnel from the Ondo State Police Command, the state’s Amotekun Corps and Agbe-Koya. The two victims were rescued unhurt, while the arrested suspects were subsequently taken into custody for investigation.
The latest directive also follows earlier security operations in parts of Ondo State’s forested areas. In March, Aiyedatiwa said his administration would deal with kidnappers and their collaborators and disclosed that security agencies had arrested about 90 suspects in connection with kidnapping and related offences. He also called on community leaders and other stakeholders to provide intelligence to security agencies.
Security agencies have previously conducted joint forest-combing operations involving the police, Army, Amotekun and other security personnel. Such operations have targeted suspected criminal hideouts in areas where authorities have identified security concerns.
The state government has linked the security campaign to its broader plans for the forestry sector, arguing that the forests must be made safe for legitimate economic activities. The government’s latest position therefore places increased emphasis on removing suspected criminal elements while strengthening cooperation among security agencies and local hunters.
For now, the 14-day deadline puts the focus on how the directive will be implemented and whether the planned security operations will succeed in reducing criminal activity in the affected forest reserves. Any subsequent action by the authorities, including arrests, evacuations or further security operations, will determine the next stage of the government’s effort to reclaim the areas.
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