The HRA warns against allowing armed civilian networks.

The Human Rights Association has called on the Federal Government and South West governors to strengthen constitutional security institutions in Oyo State and reject proposals to allow armed civilian networks.

In a statement released in May 2026, HRA President Saad Kassis-Mohamed said the call follows the attack on Community High School in Ahoro-Esinele, Oriire Local Government Area, where gunmen abducted pupils and beheaded mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun in front of students.

“A mathematics teacher was beheaded in front of his students in Oyo state. Children were abducted from their school. These are not statistics. They are the direct result of a security failure by the Nigerian state,” Kassis-Mohamed said.

The HRA expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and said that the failure to prevent the attacks and bring those responsible to justice constituted a violation of the State’s primary duty to protect citizens.

The association has noted the public statement by lead activist Sunday Adeyemo that his proposed Iru Ekun safety network is ready to begin armed operations in the forests of the South West, pending government approval. While acknowledging Adeyemo’s concern for affected communities, the HRA said allowing armed civilian groups outside Nigeria’s police force, military and DSS creates unregulated risks.

He cited Nigeria’s past experience with community-based security initiatives that operated without oversight and led to extrajudicial violence, ethnic attacks and impunity.

“The constitutional obligation of the Nigerian state to maintain internal security rests with its statutory institutions,” Kassis-Mohamed said. He referred to Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution, which states that the safety and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

The HRA urged the federal government to deploy additional capabilities across constitutional institutions, with adequate resources, training and accountability. He called for a dedicated federal response to forest-based criminal networks in the South West and parts of Kwara State, and the identification, arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the Ahoro-Esinele attack.

The association also called for the families of Oyedokun and the other victims to receive consular support, recognition and access to justice.

“The answer cannot be to authorize armed civilian networks that operate outside the regulatory security framework, without rules of engagement and without command accountability,” Kassis-Mohamed said. “Nigeria has a constitution, a police force and an army. The obligation of the federal government is to make these institutions work for the people of Oyo State.”

The Human Rights Association operates under the WeCare Foundation in Cape Town.

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