The Department of State Services (DSS) has issued a fresh security alert over a possible armed attack on Gbabe community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, heightening fears across the Kwara North axis following last week’s deadly assault on Woro community in Kaiama LGA.

In a confidential letter dated February 5, 2026, and addressed to the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, the DSS warned of suspicious movements and the build-up of armed men believed to be Mamuda elements around Kiyoru Settlement in Gwanara District.

The alert, signed by the State Director of DSS, J.S. Adams, said intelligence reports point to an imminent threat against Gbabe community, noting rising tension between the armed group and local residents.

According to the DSS, the development is linked to recurring violent activities around the Kainji Lake National Park corridor, long identified by security agencies as a vulnerable route for cross-border armed groups.

The service urged the police command to act swiftly by deploying preventive security measures to avert a breakdown of law and order and protect lives and property.

The warning comes on the heels of the recent massacre in Woro community where scores of residents were reportedly killed by gunmen who operated through forest routes stretching across Kaiama, Baruten and border areas near the Benin Republic.

Residents in Baruten have since expressed growing anxiety, while security presence has been reinforced in parts of Kaiama LGA after the attack.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq convened an emergency security council meeting at the Ahmadu Bello House in Ilorin, where heads of security agencies reviewed the situation and mapped out counter-threat strategies.

The governor said the meeting formed part of a multi-layered response to neutralise emerging security threats and strengthen inter-agency coordination across affected communities.

Meanwhile, Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo and Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji joined AbdulRazaq in visiting victims receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Ilorin. Oyebanji said the affected victims were stable but under close medical supervision, while commending federal authorities and security agencies for their rapid response.

OPC Calls for Emergency Security Measures

Reacting to the killings, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) called on South-West governors, as well as leaders of Kwara, Kogi and other Yoruba-speaking states, to immediately declare a state of emergency on security.

In a statement issued by the Chairman of Dr. Frederick Fasehun’s OPC Caretaker Committee, Kazeem Lawal, the group described the killings in Woro and Nuku communities as gruesome and provocative.

The OPC urged a coordinated regional security crackdown and a large-scale manhunt to track down those responsible, insisting that authorities must act decisively to deter further attacks.

Lawal warned against politicising insecurity and charged state governments to collaborate on rapid-response security solutions, adding that communities must not be left exposed to repeated assaults by armed groups.

He also called on federal and state authorities to mobilise all available resources to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators, while urging security agencies to shift from reactive to preventive operations.

The group declared its readiness to support lawful efforts to defend lives and communities, stressing that the escalating violence now poses a grave threat to public safety across affected regions.