By Dickson Omobola
Security Professional & Analyst, Oluwafemi Aratokun-Ale, has condemned the recent attack on security infrastructure in Ipele, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
On New Year’s eve, gunmen attacked Ipele and set the divisional police station in the area on fire.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants, numbering between 20 and 30, invaded the community at about 9:41pm.
Reacting to the incident, Aratokun-Ale, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Target Search Global, TSG, in a statement titled: ‘Beyond Condemnation: Rethinking Security Mapping and Threat Drivers in the Owo–Ipele Axis of Ondo State,’ demanded that beyond condemnation, the police must dismantle the networks of non-state actors.
Aratokun-Ale urged government to see beyond post-incident reactions, adding that security must be sustained through anticipation, intelligence, mapping and control.
The statement reads: “A clear pattern emerges when recent security incidents in Ondo State are examined objectively. Many of the most serious cases are concentrated around Owo Local Government Area, particularly Ipele and the Benin–Owo highway. The 2022 Owo Catholic Church massacre remains one of the deadliest terror attacks in southwestern Nigeria. Since 2024, kidnapping and attempted abductions along the Benin–Owo–Ipele axis have increased, alongside farm attacks and criminal incursions into forest-adjacent communities. The recent attack on a police formation signals escalation, not coincidence.
“This is not a failure of commitment by the police. Security agencies are doing their jobs under challenging conditions. The problem is strategic depth. Modern threats such as kidnapping, organized violent crime, and terror-linked activity cannot be addressed through routine patrols or reactive deployments alone. They require intelligence-led operations.
“Geography plays a critical role. The Benin–Owo–Ipele corridor is a strategic inter-state route cutting through forested terrain with multiple escape paths. Criminal networks understand terrain well and exploit areas where control is weak or fragmented.
“The aftermath of the 2022 church massacre should have permanently reclassified Owo LGA as a high-threat zone, warranting sustained intelligence presence and structural security adjustment. Instead, responses have been largely event-driven, allowing vulnerabilities to persist.
“An emerging concern is the growing public discussion around possible minerals, particularly gold, indicators in Ipele. Even unverified resource claims are enough to attract illegal miners, armed groups, and organized crime. In Nigeria’s security history, perceived resource discovery often precedes insecurity.
“Repeated kidnappings along the same highway points also point to gaps in community-level intelligence integration. Patterns exist and are visible locally, but they are not being systematically converted into preventive action.
“If this trend is to be reversed, Owo LGA, especially Ipele and the Benin–Owo corridor, must be deliberately re-mapped as a high-interest security zone. Operations must shift towards intelligence-driven deployments, hotspot and pattern-of-life analysis, and stronger inter-state collaboration, particularly between Ondo and Edo. Where resource potential exists, authorities must secure and regulate early to prevent criminal consolidation. Communities must also be treated as protected partners in security, not just victims.”
The post IPELE ATTACK: Police urged to dismantle non-state actor networks appeared first on Vanguard News.
