Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has ordered intensified security patrols across communities and forest reserves following a brazen New Year’s Eve attack on the Ipele divisional police station in Owo Local Government Area.

The directive came after an emergency meeting on Thursday with security chiefs—including the police, military, DSS, Civil Defence, and Amotekun Corps—at the Presidential Lodge, Government House, Akure.

Eyewitnesses reported that about 20 gunmen stormed the station around 10 p.m. Wednesday, firing sporadically and deploying explosives in a commando-style raid. Residents and officers fled into nearby bushes. While no casualties were recorded, the facility was set ablaze and some armoury items may have been looted.

Governor Aiyedatiwa praised the rapid mobilisation of security forces: “Somehow they breached security, but swift response curtailed the situation—nobody lost their life.” He noted the attack coincided with night church services ushering in 2026.

Police Commissioner Adebowale Lawal dismissed social media claims of casualties or church attacks as false, stressing it was premature to classify the incident as terrorism until arrests are made. Investigations are ongoing into the extent of damage.

The attack reflects broader insecurity trends in Nigeria’s Southwest and Middle Belt, where banditry, herder-farmer clashes, and kidnappings persist despite military operations. Ondo, relatively peaceful compared to neighboring states, has nonetheless experienced occasional flare-ups along rural routes.

Governor Aiyedatiwa urged calm, assuring residents that Ondo remains “one of the safest states in southern Nigeria” and vowed that perpetrators will be apprehended.