Traditional rulers across parts of South-West Nigeria have threatened to invoke ancestral deities and traditional spiritual sanctions against bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements terrorising communities in the region.
The warning was issued during a security stakeholders’ meeting held on Thursday amid rising concerns over increasing cases of kidnapping, killings and attacks on farmers and travellers across several South-West states in recent months.
The monarchs expressed deep concern over the worsening insecurity, particularly the frequent abductions reported along highways and within rural communities, warning that traditional institutions would no longer remain silent while residents continue to live in fear.
Speaking during the gathering, some of the royal fathers declared that if the security situation persists despite repeated appeals to government authorities and security agencies, traditional rulers may be forced to deploy cultural and spiritual measures rooted in Yoruba tradition to protect their people.
One of the monarchs, while addressing participants at the meeting on Thursday afternoon, said Yoruba land has a long-standing history of using traditional institutions and ancestral covenants to confront evil and criminality.
“We cannot continue to watch our people suffer daily attacks from kidnappers and bandits. If conventional security approaches fail, we may have no option but to invoke the gods of the land against those shedding innocent blood,” the monarch reportedly stated.
The traditional rulers noted that criminal gangs hiding in forests and border communities have continued to exploit security gaps, thereby threatening economic activities and peaceful coexistence across the South-West.
They also urged security agencies and state governments to strengthen intelligence gathering, improve local policing structures and provide greater support for community-based security networks.
Some community leaders who attended the meeting backed the monarchs’ position, insisting that criminals terrorising communities should face both legal and traditional consequences for their actions.
The development comes as several parts of the South-West have witnessed renewed security concerns in recent weeks, including cases of abduction for ransom and attacks on travellers along major highways.
Meanwhile, security experts have called for intensified surveillance operations within forest reserves and flashpoints believed to be serving as hideouts for criminal gangs operating in the region.