Former Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service and ex-Chairman of the Oyo State Amotekun Corps, Brig.-Gen. Kunle Togun (retd.), speaks with WALE AKINSELURE on rising insecurity in the South-West, the effectiveness of regional security efforts, and his controversial views on the forces driving banditry and insurgency in the region
Tou have repeatedly warned about the infiltration of Yoruba land by terrorists, bandits and insurgents. Recently, there was the abduction of teachers and students in Oyo State. As a former Director of Military Intelligence and ex-Chairman of Amotekun in Oyo State, how serious is the security threat in the South-West today?
As you said, I have been shouting, I have been complaining to people, but nobody listened. You said I was Director of Military Intelligence, yes; after that, I was Deputy Director-General of the SSS. The training I had with taxpayers’ money gave me the opportunity and chance to analyse security. I saw this coming, and I have been shouting since 2014. It was that year that the Yoruba Council of Elders invited me to deliver a lecture on security. I gave the lecture in Ibadan, at their headquarters in Old Bodija. At that time, I told them that trouble was coming, fighting was coming.
That was the time I joined the Yoruba Council of Elders. But last year, in 2025, they complained that I was no longer attending meetings. I said, “ You sit down, organise lectures, invite people to come and give you security analyses, but you are not taking action. Some months back, somebody from YCE in Ekiti called me and said, “General, these bandits have started attacking the Yoruba in Kwara.” I asked, “Are there Yoruba in Kwara?”
The man was shocked. He said, “How can you say that?” I said yes, because you cannot tell me you are not aware of the fact that several top Kwara indigenes told the whole world that they were not Yoruba, that they were Northerners. There is another popular man from Okene, Kogi. He even became Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum. He was saying they were not Yoruba, they were Northerners. They said Kwara would not affiliate with the South-West because they were not Yoruba.
Nobody was talking. So, I told that man, as far as I’m concerned, there are no Yoruba in Kwara until they prove they are Yoruba. Talking about security in the South-West, I have been shouting. I was Chairman of Amotekun in Oyo State; I analysed the threats to Oyo State. I extracted them from my analysis of the threats to Yoruba land. I gave it to the Commandant in Oyo State, Lt. Col. Olayinka Olayanju. Everybody believes every soldier is a security expert. I analysed everything, identified the threats to Oyo State, and what he should do when operations started. A copy of my letter was sent to Governor Seyi Makinde. But I got no cooperation from them.
What specific threats did you identify at the time?
I told them the threats to Yoruba land are the Fulani. When people start mentioning the North, it is not the North. It is the Fulani; they have suppressed the Hausa, who are in the majority, while the Fulani are a minority. On insurgency, the threat to Nigeria is the Fulani. This insurgency, this banditry, is a Fulani agenda.
You have consistently described the insecurity as a “Fulani agenda.” What exactly do you mean by that?
You want to tell me you don’t know? You mean you are not aware that they were announcing that God had given them Nigeria as an inheritance? And that they had invited Fulani from all over to come to Nigeria and take the inheritance God had given them? This insecurity in Nigeria is a Fulani agenda, and Fulani are involved, no matter where they are. You will keep hearing the names of those identified as sponsors. Several of the names being mentioned are Fulani names. You will remember I said this during the interview I had with Edmund Obilo in 2014, when late General Muhammadu Buhari was contesting the presidency against Goodluck Jonathan. Some of them said that if Jonathan won, they would make Nigeria ungovernable for him. That was the time bandits were invited into Nigeria. Those bandits argued that when the British left in 1960, they handed Nigeria over to the Fulani, and that they were now in Nigeria to defend what the British handed over to them, that Nigeria belongs to the Fulani, and they have to run Nigeria. So, they were deposited in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, and some of them were stationed in Ondo and Ekiti areas. I know those in charge of their logistics and feeding. You cannot tell me you don’t know; you are a journalist.
Are you suggesting the insurgency in the country was organised and coordinated?
The plan is for the Fulani to take over. Fulani bandits came in from West Africa. Most of these people were from Mali, Southern Sudan, Libya and Burkina Faso. There is something called the trans-Saharan route. These Tuaregs used to waylay travellers and dispossess them of their properties, money and everything. In the Geography I was taught, these Tuaregs were referred to as desert thieves. Those are the people who came into Nigeria. The government then allowed Fulani from Central Africa to come in, announcing that it was giving all Africans — because the others are West Africans and covered by ECOWAS free movement — a chance to come into Nigeria without a visa. The ECOWAS free movement does not involve people from Central Africa. You cannot say you did not hear it at the time. This is how these people flocked in. They were given national identification numbers, making them automatic citizens. We know these things, and that is why we are shouting.
How much of the security challenge would you attribute to Nigeria’s porous borders?
Don’t talk about porous borders. America cannot completely secure all its borders. Donald Trump is shouting about building a wall. Will Immigration and Customs cover all our borders? During the COVID-19 lockdown, when interstate movement was banned, was that not the period when trailers were bringing these people and dumping them all over Yoruba land? Was that not when people reacted in some places, attempted to stone them, and they ran away?
You mentioned Ondo and Ekiti as infiltration points, yet the Defence Headquarters insists there are no terrorist bases in the South-West. Do you disagree with the military’s assessment?
Who in the DHQ is talking? Where did these people learn intelligence? I’m not bluffing. Some people were posted to intelligence positions politically. I was there. I was trained. I know the level of training I had in intelligence and security. I had this training outside Nigeria — in Britain and the United States. I learnt how to analyse and predict what is coming. Now, you are talking about the security of Yoruba land.
Beyond border issues, what do you see as the biggest drivers of insecurity in Yoruba land?
The problem is that most governors in Yoruba land are not interested in security. They are just spending security funds. The only governor who was truly concerned about security was Rotimi Akeredolu, and he is gone. Yoruba governors are only pursuing politics.
But the governors constantly buy vehicles and security gadgets for security agencies…
Buying vehicles is not security. I gave them all the places they needed to patrol, all the places they needed 12-hour guards, and all the places they were supposed to station 24-hour guards. I gave them everything.
But some of these vehicles were stationed to provide security when there was an upsurge in kidnappings on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
So, the kidnappers cannot gang up and attack them where they are parked?
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What do you make of the argument that the governors are probably just overwhelmed by the nagging security challenges?
What overwhelmed? I was Chairman of Amotekun. I didn’t apply for it. Governor Seyi Makinde said it would be difficult for me not to be invited on matters of security in Oyo State. Did he listen to me? There was a retired military officer, Colonel Adeleye Agbede.
He called me one day and said we should meet at the Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers’ Mess, not far from Agodi Gate and very close to the deputy governor’s residence. So we met there that day — himself, myself, General Oladayo Popoola and Colonel Yakubu Anifowose. The question was, “Are we just going to sit down and watch insecurity flourish in Yoruba land?” I said four people could not do it alone. We invited others. When we were about 15 retired military officers — Army, Air Force and Navy personnel of Yoruba extraction — we carried out an analysis. Three others and I were asked to prepare the security threat analysis for Yoruba land. We did it. Colonel Agbede said he had contacted Akeredolu and that Akeredolu was interested. When we finished, Colonel Agbede said he was travelling to the UK for a medical check-up. He later called and said he had met Akeredolu in London and requested that we send him two copies of the analysis. It was General Popoola who sent it to him. He went through it and said he was interested. At that time, he was Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum. The man later returned and suffered a serious illness until he died. General Popoola gave a copy to Seyi Makinde and told him, “My friend, the Army, Navy and Air Force Officers’ Mess is very close to your house, try to branch there occasionally for security discussions.” When we talk about security, they are all interested in politics. About two years ago, the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria conducted an analysis, wrote a report and handed it over to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is the current chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum. Till today, no action. They are collecting security votes. They are the number one security officers in their states. How can they be overwhelmed? They receive security votes, yet they are not paying attention to security.
Are the security vulnerabilities you identified in Oyo peculiar to the state, or are they common across the South-West?
The one I did when I was Chairman of Amotekun for Oyo State is applicable to the entire Yoruba land. I identified the vulnerable points in Oyo State and what needed to be done.
Which areas in Oyo State do you consider the most vulnerable to insurgent activity?
There is the Oyo National Park. Oyo National Park extends to Kwara, Ogbomoso, Igboho, Igbeti, Saki, Atisbo and Oyo. There is also the Opara Forest Reserve in the Saki area. Opara Forest Reserve covers over 250,000 hectares of land. It extends to Ibarapa. How many men can you deploy across such an expanse to identify the location of bandits?
You criticised parking vehicles by the roadside. What methods should be adopted to tackle insecurity?
You need modern technology to determine precise locations and know where to strike. You catch the terrorists by surprise. Surprise is a principle of war. I told him the areas he was supposed to patrol. They have to use modern technology to identify the location of these people. It will assist the military operating in the state to know where to strike. While travelling to Lagos, you must have seen Amotekun vehicles parked by the roadside. Is that patrol?
During your time as Amotekun Chairman, were operatives adequately trained to confront insurgency and kidnapping?
The law establishing Amotekun states that recruitment is to be done by the board. Even discipline within Amotekun is to be handled by the board. But the Commandant is doing everything.
But they were camped for about three weeks.
Yes, they were camped at St. Andrew’s College, Oyo. They had no proper training. What they had was a hogwash training. Those who participated in the Passing Out Parade were merely rehearsed for the parade. They did not attend lectures. Those who attended the lectures wondered whether they were actually being trained or simply on an excursion. They do not have enough training to fight. What do they know about patrol? What do they know about ambush? They were not trained. For Amotekun to work, we have to purge the personnel and ensure the removal of undesirable elements. Then we can focus on the others.
Some Agbekoya members have demanded that the government empower them to tackle these insurgents.
I know how Agbekoya started. I was at the university when it started. Can the current generation do what those old men did? The police were sent to arrest the old Agbekoya members. Before they got close, the police uniforms became stuck to their bodies; soldiers were sent there, and the same thing happened. Can the current Agbekoya do what the older Agbekoya did? During those inter-tribal wars, our forefathers did not use dane guns to fight. They used nature. In the history of the Ijaiye war, in which Saki participated, Saki used rain and thunder against the enemies; they did not use dane guns. There were places where they used bees to disperse enemies. I am working on this with Oke-Ogun hunters, and we are recording some breakthroughs. It is beyond Agbekoya demanding weapons.
Are there peculiarities to the insurgency affecting the South-West compared to what is happening in zones like the North-West?
It is a Fulani agenda. So, it is the same thing. Kidnapping and cattle rustling started because when Buhari won the election, those taking care of these imported bandits were abandoned. I am coordinating hunters in Oke-Ogun and looking for traditional means to confront these people. We are going to defend the entire Yoruba land when we achieve the needed breakthrough. Will I become a slave in Yoruba land?
What is your assessment of the government’s handling of the Oriire school abduction?
When the Oriire incident happened, the Commissioner for Information in Oyo State released a statement saying all the bandits had been cornered and there was no escape for them. I replied on social media that Oyo State was playing politics with human lives. If they had truly been cornered, did they need to announce it publicly? That may have triggered the terrorists’ decision to slaughter one of the hostages, as seen in the video. If the bandits realise they have been cornered, they will do anything to escape. If they had truly been cornered, would you have gone in there to rescue those captured? Had you brought them out?
Culled: punchng.com
