Alaafin condemns old Oyo park killings, calls it assault on yoruba heritage
By Adejayan Gbenga
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, has condemned the recent attack on Oloko village and the killing of civilians and forest rangers in Old Oyo National Park, describing the incident as an assault on Yoruba sovereignty and ancestral heritage.
In a statement issued on Friday by his Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Bode Durojaiye, the monarch expressed sympathy to the families of the slain forest guards and other victims of the attack.
Oba Owoade said the killings went beyond a mere security breach, warning that they constituted a direct threat to the historic foundations of the old Oyo Empire. He lamented that sacred forests, game reserves and historic grounds were increasingly being turned into killing fields by armed marauders.
The Alaafin called for a full and transparent investigation into the incident, as well as the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those responsible for the killings in the national park.
As part of measures to address the security challenge, the monarch urged the designation of Otefon village as a permanent armed military base to strengthen security and safeguard the Oyo–Oduduwa corridor.
He also proposed the deployment of a Yoruba defence force battalion, operating under a joint command involving the Nigerian Army and traditional warrior chiefs, to conduct round-the-clock patrols within Old Oyo National Park.
The Alaafin further appealed to the Federal Government, calling on the President and the Ministry of Defence to declare Otefon a strategic national security zone and to fund the construction of barracks, watchtowers and a helipad in the area.
Describing banditry and insecurity as “gory, worrisome and disturbing,” Oba Owoade stressed that security was critical to national survival, while commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for demonstrating, through concrete actions, that tackling insecurity remains a top priority of his administration.
