The Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun, has apprehended a total of 28 individuals involved in various crimes across different parts of the state.
Among the suspects were two secondary school girls who were arrested by Amotekun officers for allegedly staging their own abduction and extorting a ransom from their mother.
Presenting the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Akure, the state capital, on Monday, Commander Akogun Adetunji Adeleye disclosed that the two female students, aged 13 and 15, were in Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1 and JSS 3, respectively.
According to the commander, the suspects concealed themselves in Oka-Akoko, a town in Akoko South-West Local Government Area of the state. They then contacted their mother, pretending to be kidnappers and demanding a sum of N100,000 as ransom.
Adeleye further revealed that the girls, posing as kidnappers, made threatening phone calls to the monarch of their town, demanding that the ransom be paid within 24 hours. They warned that if the payment was not made, they would harm the captives in their custody.
He said, “The 28 suspects we are parading today (Monday) shows that we have more kidnapping than any other criminal activities. This is in continuation of our efforts at ensuring that kidnapping in Ondo State becomes a thing of the past.
“We have people who kidnapped themselves and raised alarm and in our diligent investigations, we were able to unravel the mystery surrounding their disappearance to the extent that they have confessed.”
The head of Amotekun, in conjunction with operatives from the Department of State Security, highlighted that the apprehension of the suspects was made possible by tracking the telephone line being used by the girls to their location.
During the proceedings, one of the girls, who admitted to the crime, revealed that she was influenced by her older sister to engage in the act.
The 13-year-old said, “On that day, my sister and I spent the night in our grandma’s place and left there around 6:00 am the following day. While on our way back home, my (elder) sister told me that she had a plan to get money from our mother.
“She then revealed her plan to declare ourselves kidnapped and asked for N50,000 each ransom from our mother. It was my sister who taught me what to say when they put a call through to my mother.
“When we called we didn’t know that it was the monarch that was speaking with us on the phone and we threatened to kill our victims in captivity if they failed to pay the ransom quickly.”
