Bandits Slaughter Five Rangers in Oyo Park Outpost Raid

Gunmen launched a ferocious assault on the National Park Service outpost in Oloka village, Ikoyi-Ile, Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State, around 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, leaving five rangers dead and communities gripped by terror ​. About 12 assailants burst from surrounding bushes, overwhelming the officers on routine duty with gunfire before vanishing into the expansive Old Oyo National Park forest reserve, a known haven for bandits and kidnappers ​. Police evacuated the bodies with forensic support, while operations continue to hunt the perpetrators ​.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde decried the “devastating loss” of lives, pledging exhaustive measures to avert future attacks and urging residents in Orire and border areas to stay calm as normalcy returns ​. Police Commissioner Femi Haruna inspected the site, deploying tactical squads, mobile units, intelligence teams, and explosives experts, with spokesperson DSP Ayanlade Olayinka confirming promising leads for arrests ​. Park Conservator Tesleem Kareem verified the fatalities, noting recovery efforts amid reports of some rangers shot dead and others burned ​.

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The Oyo Global Forum (OGF) called the raid predictable, pointing to the outpost’s vulnerability along ungoverned corridors linking Kwara, Niger, and Kebbi states—hotbeds for extremists exploiting the Old Oyo Empire site’s relics and remote villages ​. Chairman Taiwo Adebayo cited ignored warnings of terrorist scouting, demanding community early-warning systems, Amotekun patrols, Forest Guards, and federal intervention to reclaim the area ​. Residents reported panic, flight from homes, and even suspicious aircraft sightings, amplifying calls for urgent action ​.

This strike echoes a December 2025 Orire ambush where gunmen killed three, including a pregnant woman, abducted others, and extorted ₦20 million plus motorcycles, cementing the forest’s notoriety as a bandit base fueling insecurity in Oke-Ogun, Orire, and Atiba zones ​. Eyewitnesses described sustained gunfire signaling a coordinated hit, with some victims found on prayer mats, deepening grief among families like one widow’s mother-in-law pleading for justice ​. OGF plans a stakeholders’ retreat to bolster government efforts, warning of entrenched threats spilling south amid northern bandit pressures ​.