The Department of State Services (DSS) has raised the alarm over a planned series of coordinated attacks by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) on communities in Ondo and Kogi states.
In a confidential letter addressed to the Nigerian Army’s 32 Artillery Brigade in Akure, the DSS identified specific targets, including Oyin-Akoko and Eriti-Akoko in Akoko North-West Local Government Area, and Owo, the Owo Local Government headquarters.
Signed by H. I. Kana, the letter disclosed that ISWAP operatives had begun surveillance on soft targets in the affected communities. The DSS urged heightened vigilance to prevent any potential attack.
“Intelligence confirmed plans by members of ISWAP to carry out coordinated attacks on communities in Ondo and Kogi states anytime soon,” the letter read. “There is a need to scale up security alertness in the various communities to forestall any untoward situation.”
Confirming the development, Ondo Police spokesperson, Olayinka Ayanlade, said the command had deployed intelligence and operational assets to forestall any security breach.
He added that Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, had convened a high-level security meeting with stakeholders from the Akoko area commands in Ikare and Iwaro-Oka to strengthen community-based policing.
The warning comes three years after suspected ISWAP militants attacked St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, on 5 June 2022, killing 41 worshippers and injuring dozens. The suspects were later arrested and are standing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
