Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
In a desperate attempt to cripple the logistics networks of armed gangs that have turned the hilly hinterlands of Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area into a fortress of fear, the Kogi State Government has invoked sweeping emergency powers, imposing an immediate ban on commercial motorcycle operations, shutting down all local markets, prohibiting night travel on state roads after 7 p.m., and restricting the sale of fuel in jerricans across the violence-prone region. The drastic measures, which took effect on Saturday, June 13, 2026, follow an emergency security review after a deadly terrorist attack on Iluke community that was successfully repelled by a joint security task force.
The Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, announced the sweeping restrictions on Saturday in a statement titled “Kogi Government Bans Okada Operations in Bunu Hinterlands, Bans Night Travel on State Roads After 7PM, Shuts Markets and Restricts Fuel Sales to Cut Off Bandits’ Supply Network,” obtained by newsmen in Lokoja. The statement detailed that the decision was precipitated by a comprehensive reassessment of the volatile security situation in Bunu District.
“Following a comprehensive review of ongoing security operations in Bunu District after the recent terrorist attack on Iluke community which was successfully repelled, intelligence and operational reports indicate that significant progress has been made by Joint Security Forces,” Fanwo explained. According to the government’s assessment, several of the attackers involved in the Iluke raid have been neutralized, while many others sustained injuries and remain trapped within the dense forest corridors as security forces sweep the area. The new raft of restrictions is designed to consolidate those tactical gains.
The most aggressive measure targets the commercial motorcycle sector, commonly known as “Okada.” The government announced an immediate and total ban on the use of these motorcycles for transporting passengers, goods, or supplies across specific hinterland corridors. “Intelligence available to security agencies has revealed that motorcycle operators constitute a major channel through which food items, water, drugs and other logistics are transported to bandits hiding within the forests,” the commissioner asserted. He further alleged that criminal elements often use motorcycles to conduct reconnaissance on vulnerable communities before launching attacks.
The restricted corridors affected by the ban include major highways and feeder roads through rural Bunu District, specifically the corridor stretching from Idoyi Bunu through Illah Bunu, Iluke Bunu and Kiri, as well as the route from Iluke Bunu through Odai Bunu, Igbo Bunu, Ilogun Bunu, Olle Bunu, Ayede Bunu, Oke-Ofin Bunu and Edumo Bunu. The restrictions also apply to the Ayede Bunu, Aherin, Eshi and Ighun Bunu corridor. The government has directed the Motorcycle Operators Association of Nigeria (MOAN) to immediately sensitize all its members on the ban, warning that any rider found violating the directive “shall be apprehended and dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Kogi State Anti-Terrorism Law.”
Beyond the motorcycle ban, the government moved to dry up the economic and logistical lifelines of the criminal gangs by ordering an indefinite shutdown of all local markets located along the affected routes until further notice. In a move that will drastically choke the supply of medical aid, mobile medicine vendors and distributors have been directed to suspend the transportation and sale of drugs on motorcycles. The sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) in jerricans has been strictly prohibited across the entirety of Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area with immediate effect, a deliberate tactic aimed at reducing the mobility of the armed groups that rely on scavenged fuel.
Perhaps the most sweeping restriction imposed by the state government is a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the entire state road network. “As part of measures to strengthen security across the state and deny criminal elements the opportunity to operate under the cover of darkness, the Kogi State Government hereby announces a ban on night travel on all state-owned roads across Kogi State,” the commissioner ordered. “Consequently, all movements on state roads must cease by 7:00 p.m. daily until further notice. Any person found travelling on a state-owned road after 7:00 p.m. shall be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.”
The government’s actions are a direct response to the escalating crisis in the region. The Iluke community attack, which the security forces managed to repel, was just one in a series of violent incidents in Kogi’s rural pockets. On June 3, the police announced the arrest of a key suspect in a previous coordinated bandit attack on Ayegunle community along the Obajana–Kabba road, where over 30 persons were abducted in a late-night raid masterminded by a kingpin known as Batijo.
While acknowledging that the stringent measures may cause “temporary inconvenience to law-abiding citizens,” Commissioner Fanwo reiterated the government’s resolve to protect lives and property. The Kogi State Government has sent a clear message: in the fight against the men hiding in the forests, every road, every market, and every fuel can is now a weapon in the battle to starve the terror networks of the supplies they need to survive.
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