Oyo’s security push hinges on better ground response, local governance

Oyo State has taken delivery of two surveillance aircraft to strengthen intelligence gathering and combat rising insecurity, but security experts say the investment will only make a meaningful impact if backed by rapid deployment of security operatives on the ground and improved government presence at the rural areas.

Governor Seyi Makinde on Tuesday received the aircraft at the Ladoke Akintola International Airport, Ibadan, describing them as a major addition to the state’s security architecture that would enhance rapid response to criminal activities.

Makinde said the acquisition was conceived long before the recent abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area and formed part of a broader strategy to improve security across Oyo’s vast territory.

According to him, the aircraft will be deployed immediately and operated by Nigerian Air Force pilots under a Memorandum of Understanding between the state government and the Air Force.

Makinde also welcomed the release of pupils and teachers abducted from schools in Oriire on May 15, saying their safe return had brought relief to the state.

The abduction, which kept families and communities in suspense for nearly two months, exposed the security vulnerabilities around the Old Oyo National Park, where security agencies believe the kidnappers operated before the victims were rescued in a coordinated operation involving the Nigerian Army, intelligence agencies and local security outfits.

Beyond the rescue, the incident has renewed concerns over growing insecurity in Oyo State, where kidnapping, illegal mining and criminal activities around forested areas have become recurring threats.

A security expert, who spoke anonymously, described the acquisition of the surveillance aircraft as “a step in the right direction” but said it would have limited impact without stronger ground operations and improved local intelligence.

The expert also called for better governance in rural communities, noting that the absence of government presence has created opportunities for criminal groups to flourish.

“The surveillance aircraft is a good initiative, but it is only one part of the solution. There must be boots on the ground to respond to intelligence promptly, while local intelligence gathering must also improve. Equally important is strengthening governance in rural areas. The absence of government presence in many of these communities is one of the major factors driving insecurity,” the expert said.

Ayomide Akinwale, an analyst at SBM Intelligence, said the surveillance aircraft represent an important intelligence asset but cautioned that they are not designed to engage criminal elements directly.

“The aircraft’s primary role is surveillance and reconnaissance,” Akinwale said. “It can carry out aerial surveillance for up to 12 hours. However, it is limited in some of its functions because it cannot carry out kinetic operations.”

According to him, the aircraft will instead help identify emerging threats and relay intelligence to security agencies for immediate action.

“Primarily, all it can do is identify threat zones and revert the information to security operators so they could deploy timely and in all the finest ways possible to neutralise a threat,” he said.

Akinwale noted that the Oriire kidnapping highlighted the importance of early intelligence gathering, explaining that residents had observed unusual movements around their communities before the attack but there was no coordinated response.

“With the deployment of this aircraft now, it gives them a sense of… the deployment of this aircraft would be able to pre-empt these threats when they are mobilised before execution of insurgent operations,” he said.

The analyst, however, stressed that the aircraft’s effectiveness would ultimately depend on how quickly security agencies act on the intelligence generated.

“For it to be effective, on-the-ground forces must be ready to quickly nullify threats once they have been pre-empted by the aircraft after carrying out aerial surveillance and reconnaissance,” he said. “They have to be on the ground. Operations must be prompt and ready to nullify threats effectively.”

He warned that investing in surveillance technology without strengthening response capacity could limit the benefits of the new security assets.

“The essence of the surveillance aircraft would not be significant because it cannot carry out attacks. All it can do is gather information on areas where insurgents are concentrated and feed it to the army or the police so they can quickly deploy and nullify the threat,” Akinwale said.

Drawing lessons from other states, he said surveillance systems have often failed to deliver expected outcomes because intelligence was not followed by swift operational response.

“The problem is that on-ground operatives are not prompt and they do not respond swiftly to nullify threats,” he said.

“So, hopefully, that is something the state government should take from this investment, that on-ground operatives are ready to quickly neutralise threats after they have been pre-empted through the surveillance of the aircraft.”