Loading ...IBADAN, NIGERIA — Several operatives attached to Iru Ekun, the private security network founded by Yoruba Nation activist Sunday Adeyemo (popularly known as Sunday Igboho), have reportedly sustained severe injuries after running into a deadly ambush laid by suspected cross-border bandits.
The violent clash occurred during an unsanctioned anti-banditry clearance operation within the vast and dense terrains of the Old Oyo National Park.
The Ambush in the Deep Forest
According to preliminary reports, the Iru Ekun security operatives were combing the forest reserves as part of their self-declared mandate to flush out terrorists and kidnappers when they were blindsided by heavily armed syndicates.
The bandits, suspected to be part of the cross-border criminal network terrorizing the Oke-Ogun and Ogbomoso axes, opened fire on the local security team. A fierce gun battle ensued, leaving several of Igboho’s men with varying degrees of gunshot wounds before backup and tactical maneuvers allowed them to retreat.
The injured operatives have reportedly been evacuated to an undisclosed medical facility in Oyo State for treatment.
Background: The Rise of the ‘Iru Ekun’ Security Network
The ambush comes on the heels of a highly publicized push by Sunday Igboho to deploy his newly formed private security outfit, Iru Ekun, to fill security gaps across the South-West.
Following the May 15, 2026, mass abduction of scores of pupils and teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Igboho had publicly requested permission from Governor Seyi Makinde to enter the forests and dislodge the bandits. He even offered to post at least two armed guards at every public school in the state.
While Igboho claims to have registered the private firm and received a nod from certain federal quarters, a deep friction has persisted:
- The State’s Stance: The Oyo State Government and the State Police Command have consistently warned parallel, non-state security structures against launching independent operations, fearing it could lead to chaos or compromise official rescue operations.
- Igboho’s Defiance: Defying warnings, Igboho recently declared in a viral video clip: “We’ve started already; there’s no delay. Anyone found in any of our forests is a criminal.”
A Growing Security Crisis in Oyo State
The ambush highlights the extreme volatility of Oyo State’s forest reserves, which share porous borders with other states and international boundaries. The Old Oyo National Park area has increasingly become a fortress for highly organized criminal syndicates equipped with sophisticated weaponry.
The incident is bound to heighten the existing tension between Sunday Igboho’s loyalists and the Oyo State government, as critics will likely use the ambush to question the tactical capability of private militia outfits handling heavily armed, battle-tested bandits without official state coordination.
Neither the Oyo State Police Command nor Sunday Igboho’s legal team has issued a formal press statement regarding the exact casualty figures or the current location of the surviving operatives.
