The Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, has ordered all individuals squatting in the forest areas of communities currently being terrorised by bandits within the council to leave immediately to avoid "security consequences."

He listed the communities where squatters are expected to vacate the forest areas around them immediately to include Babanla, Oro-Ago, Babasango, Igbo Elefan, the Ekiti boundary, and the Edu boundary, among others. Yusuf gave this order in a statement issued by his media aide, Abdulquadri Jimba, on Tuesday.

He directed that the squatters must vacate the forests with immediate effect. Jimba quoted the Chairman as stating that the directive is in compliance with ongoing security efforts around the affected areas.

The statement read: "The Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government, Hadji Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, has ordered all those squatting in the forest around Babanla, Oro-Ago, Babasango, Igbo Elefan, Ekiti boundary, and Edu boundary, among others, to vacate with immediate effect. Those in the bush are to vacate immediately, and failure to do so will attract security consequences."

It will be recalled that communities in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State have in the past month become a hotbed of insecurity, characterised by the frequent abduction of residents and killings. However, security operatives have recently launched various operations in the area to curb the activities of kidnappers believed to be terrorists hibernating in the bushes around the vicinity.

As part of the security measures, Yusuf had last Wednesday declared a 24-hour curfew imposed on the Oro-Ago community within the local government. The Council Chairman explained that the action is part of a coordinated effort to put terrorists in disarray and protect lives and property in the area.

"Within this period, there will be no human or vehicular traffic in the entire district. This is in support of the ongoing security clearance operation in the area by the military. Further reviews of this measure will be communicated," Yusuf said in the statement.