Dislodged Northern Insurgents Migrating to Southern Forests, Intelligence Sources Reveal

Terrorist and bandit factions displaced by military operations in Northwest states like Zamfara and Sokoto have begun migrating toward Nigeria’s South-East and South-South regions.

According to multiple security and intelligence officials, fleeing insurgents are exploiting an extensive network of interconnected forest corridors, cattle paths, and riverine routes to evade military pressure and establish new operational bases.

Intelligence indicates that these migration patterns rely heavily on geography, with North-Central states serving as critical staging areas. Security sources point to Kogi State as a central convergence point where fleeing elements from the North train and strategize.

A vast web of woodland tracks connects Zamfara and Benue through Niger and Kogi states. Specifically, forests in eastern Kogi’s Igala territory link directly into the Ikole/Ijero and Ogbese Forest Reserves in Ekiti State, providing an entry point into Ondo and Oyo states via the Oyo National Park.

From the Ose region of Ondo State, insurgents have reportedly filtered into the Owan and Akoko-Edo regions of Edo State. This tactical infiltration recently prompted the Edo State Government to order the immediate closure of three secondary schools in the Akoko-Edo Local Government Area following credible intelligence warnings of a planned mass student abduction.

Intelligence officers note that these migrating terror groups have altered their primary objectives. Rather than focusing solely on commercial kidnappings for monetary ransom, factions are increasingly prioritizing the mass abduction of schoolchildren.

This strategy aims to force federal and state governments into negotiating high-profile prisoner swaps to secure the release of detained terror commanders. However, security officials indicate that the federal government is maintaining a strict non-negotiation policy, backed by international counter-terrorism agreements and foreign intelligence support, to actively track and rescue hostages.

While intelligence reports trace transit routes leading directly toward the South-East via difficult terrains like the Ihiala-Orlu-Okigwe and Umunneochi-Isuikwuato axes, local security dynamics present a mixed picture.

A senior military official in Anambra State suggested that northern insurgents face structural barriers trying to settle in the South-East forest belt, noting that local armed secessionist groups like the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), would violently resist northern factions encroaching on their territory.

Meanwhile, the Anambra State security outfit, Agunechemba, confirmed it has encountered armed bandits and uncovered weapons caches along riverbanks and isolated farmlands, though officials stated they do not yet have definitive proof linking these elements to dislodged northern terror groups.

Conversely, the Imo State Police Command dismissed reports of northern terrorist infiltration as propaganda, maintaining that active security challenges in the state are strictly driven by local IPOB/ESN remnants and criminal elements masquerading as herders.

Similarly, the Abia State Government stated that while it remains fully prepared to counter external aggression, it has recorded no intelligence confirming a terrorist presence in its local forests.