For decades, Starnews NG reports that Ondo State was widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most peaceful and culturally rich regions. Created on February 3, 1976, from the old Western State, Ondo earned the sobriquet “Sunshine State” not merely as a slogan, but as a reflection of its serene atmosphere, lush vegetation, agricultural prosperity, and communal harmony.
From the cocoa farms of Idanre to the pupuru (cassava) and palm wine tapping of the Ikales, and the riverine fishery communities of Ilaje, from the rocky landscapes of Oke-Igbo to the academic tranquillity of Akure and Owo, Ondo was known for its hospitality, enterprise, and cultural pride.
Farmers travelled at dawn without fear. Traders returned home late from markets. Students attended night classes. Worshippers went for vigils and returned in the early hours unthreatened.
Akure, the state capital, once enjoyed an active nightlife without anxiety. Social events ran late into the night, and the highways linking Ondo to neighbouring states were relatively safe compared to many other parts of the country.
However, that narrative has gradually changed.
As early as the 2020s, Starnews NG reports that isolated incidents began to puncture Ondo’s reputation as a haven of peace. Statistics from security monitors indicate that violence, including abductions and armed clashes, had been recorded in multiple parts of the state, particularly in Akure North, Akoko South-West, and Owo local government areas.
Initially, many residents believed such events were exceptions rather than the norm. The first signs of trouble appeared quietly in the mid-2010s, when incidents of armed robbery and cult clashes surfaced in parts of the state. At the time, these were viewed as criminal outbursts rather than structural threats to public safety.
However, by the late 2010s, kidnapping for ransom began to infiltrate Ondo’s forests and highway corridors. Travellers along the Akure-Owo road and rural communities bordering neighbouring states started reporting abductions. What initially seemed distant soon became disturbingly frequent.
The defining rupture came on June 5, 2022, when gunmen attacked St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo during a Sunday service. Worshippers had gathered for Pentecost Mass when assailants opened fire and detonated explosives, killing dozens and injuring many others. The massacre stunned the nation and shattered Ondo’s long-held reputation as a sanctuary of calm. It was more than a security breach; it was a psychological turning point. If a church service could be invaded in broad daylight, residents wondered what place was truly safe.
In the months that followed, Starnews NG writes that kidnappings intensified across the state. Farmers were taken from their fields, and motorists were ambushed along highways. Communities in Ose, Akoko, and Akure North began to live with persistent anxiety. Reports of ransom demands filtered through local networks, often resolved quietly without public disclosure. Each incident deepened the perception that armed groups had found operational comfort within Ondo’s expansive forest reserves.
By 2024 and into 2025, the pattern had grown bolder. Abductions occurred closer to residential communities, and youth protests erupted sporadically as frustration mounted over what many described as inadequate preventive security measures. Residents increasingly accused authorities of reacting only after attacks rather than anticipating them.
In 2026, Starnews NG reports indicate a worsening trend in insecurity, moving from sporadic incidents to headline-making fright. Several high-profile attacks and abductions in recent weeks heightened public anxiety.
The narrative took another troubling turn in February when gunmen stormed a church service in Uso, within the Owo Local Government Area, abducting worshippers during a night vigil. The victims were reportedly held captive until ransom payments secured their release. This incident reignited painful memories of the Owo church massacre and reinforced fears about the vulnerability of religious gatherings. Security advisories followed, urging caution for night programmes, but for many residents, the response felt belated.
Barely weeks later, tension gripped parts of Akoko following the abduction and subsequent killing of a youth leader who had been seized while returning to his community. His death intensified calls for urgent security reform and triggered fresh apprehension about travelling even short distances after dusk.
Across Akure and other towns, Starnews NG editorial reports gathered that behavioural patterns have shifted noticeably. Movement at night has reduced drastically. Worshippers who once attended vigils without hesitation now reconsider late-night gatherings. Farmers weigh the risk before venturing deep into their farmlands.
Conversations in markets and motor parks increasingly revolve around safety concerns rather than commerce alone.
Critics argue that while neighbouring states such as Osun and Oyo have invested in aerial surveillance and strengthened coordinated security frameworks, Ondo’s security architecture has not evolved at the same pace. Residents accuse the government of Dr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa of limiting itself to the reactive issuance of press releases without a proactive security action policy to address insecurity.
Residents who spoke in different interviews expressed frustration with the lack of synergy between security agencies. “Apart from Amotekun, which has reduced the fight against insecurity to the pages of newspapers and corridors of power, there are no visible operations against criminals. There have been no visits to the dens of these kidnappers and terrorists. It may interest you to know that I have never heard of any joint task operations by security agencies in Ondo State to target the hideouts of criminals,” a monarch, speaking under the condition of anonymity, stated angrily.
“The absence of a functional joint task force, visible technological reinforcements, and sustained forest surveillance has fueled perceptions that the state remains vulnerable to organised armed groups exploiting its difficult terrain.”
Government officials maintain that security agencies are working tirelessly; however, residents insist that the lived reality tells a different story. The contrast between the Ondo of yesterday and the Ondo of today is stark. A state once defined by communal warmth and midnight freedom now measures its evenings against caution.
Ondo’s timeline of insecurity did not unfold overnight. It evolved gradually from isolated criminality to high-profile terror, from rural abductions to attacks on sacred spaces, from occasional fear to sustained anxiety. The Sunshine State still retains its cultural strength and resilient communities, but the growing shadows of insecurity demand more than reactive statements. They call for a comprehensive, proactive restructuring of security strategy that restores public confidence and reclaims the peace that once defined the land.
Until then, residents continue to ask a difficult question: how did a state once known for light become increasingly overshadowed by fear, Starnews NG reports.
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