NSCEA Raises Alarm Over Insecurity, Alleged Islamisation and Fulanisation of Yoruba Land
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Ecclesiastical Affairs (NSCEA) has expressed concern over rising insecurity in the South-West, warning against what it described as attempts at the “Islamization and Fulanization” of Yoruba land.
In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by Bishop Professor Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, Secretary of the Elders’ Council of NSCEA, the body lamented the growing wave of kidnappings, killings, attacks on schools, farms and communities across parts of the region.
The Council, led spiritually by Pa Professor Olusola Ajolore, said the recent killing of a school teacher during an abduction attack in Oyo State underscored the worsening security situation and the fears among residents.
According to the statement, communities in the South-West are increasingly living in fear as armed criminals and kidnappers continue to terrorize innocent citizens, invade schools, attack farmers and abduct travellers on major highways.
NSCEA argued that the insecurity should not be viewed solely as isolated criminal activities, but also within the context of what it described as territorial intimidation, demographic aggression and threats to indigenous identity and coexistence.
“Yoruba land, historically known for civilization, education, tolerance, enterprise, integrity and peaceful coexistence, must not be turned into a theatre of terror, fear, religious domination, or ethnic conquest,” the statement read.
Professor Adesanya-Davies said the killing of the teacher represented “an attack on education, civilization, humanity and the future of the younger generation,” adding that silence in the face of insecurity could embolden criminal elements.
The Council warned against any agenda capable of undermining religious freedom, ancestral heritage and the territorial integrity of indigenous communities in Nigeria, stressing that the country was founded on pluralism, justice and constitutional freedom.
It maintained that no ethnic or religious group should feel intimidated, displaced or endangered in their ancestral homeland, adding that lasting peace could only thrive where fairness, equity and mutual respect prevail.
NSCEA called on the Federal Government, South-West governors, traditional rulers, lawmakers and security agencies to urgently strengthen regional security architecture, improve intelligence gathering and ensure the protection of schools, farms, churches, villages and highways.
The Council also advocated constitutional restructuring, state policing and stronger collaboration between local vigilante groups and security agencies, while demanding the swift prosecution of kidnappers and violent criminals regardless of ethnicity or religion.
The body further appealed to the international community, human rights organisations and defenders of religious freedom to pay closer attention to the humanitarian and security challenges facing many Nigerian communities.
NSCEA expressed condolences to the family of the slain teacher, the people of Oyo State and other victims of insecurity across the country, while praying for peace, justice and stability in Yoruba land and Nigeria at large.
The statement also noted that Pa Professor Olusola Ajolore would mark his 100th birthday on July 26, 2026, and pledged to continue offering spiritual and intellectual guidance to the nation.
