Four suspected kidnappers, cattle rustlers, and other suspected criminals have been arrested by the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps.
The Commander of the security outfit, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye said the suspects were arrested across the 18 local government areas of the state, in collaboration with other security agencies and the local vigilante.
Speaking at the headquarters of the command, Adeleye said the suspects had allegedly been terrorising the state in recent times.
The suspects, he said, were allegedly involved in various crimes such as kidnapping, theft, stealing, cattle rustling, vandalism, among others.
He said, “Today, I am parading a total of 28 suspects, and I want to let you know that the criminal world is evolving. Therefore, Ondo State Security Network Agency Amotekun always strives to be ahead of them.
“We have now gone beyond arresting criminals and suspects alone. As we talk now, we are after their godfathers and backbones, and the reason is simple. So we are saying that until we uproot them, we won’t have total peace.
“We need the socioeconomic growth of Ondo State to continue to increase. By the intervention of Amotekun Corp, the IGR of Ondo State in 2023 increased by over 500% and we don’t want to relent. Hence, our fight is not against the criminals alone, but against their sponsors.
“I give you an example, as part of the people we are parading today, there is a section of them that steals, kills, murders riders, and dispossesses them. They have already made market receivers, who, within minutes, dismantle and sell to those who will later assemble and sell. We’ve gone after them and we have arrested the suspect, we have arrested the sponsor, we’ve arrested all the culprits.
“The chain of criminality had to be broken and uprooted, and that is the directive of His Excellency, the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa to create an enabling environment for investors to bombard Ondo State.
“So today, four suspected kidnappers were arrested in the Elegbeka area. They are Kwangi, Kwanji, Kana, Sam, and Daniel, aged between 18 and 27. On rape and fraud, we have Abiola, aged 24. We have equally on defilement, rape, and sexual assault, one Ogungbemi. And we have Tosin on assault. To the Fulani communities, their cattle were rustled and taken away from the Igbara-Oke axis.
“We went after the Fulani that stole the cattle, retrieved the cattle, arrested the rustlers who are Abubakar Musa and Umar Mohammed, aged 20, and returned the cows to the Fulani men.
“We equally have Obasi Ezekiel, who specializes in vandalizing electrical materials across the state. And to a syndicate that engages in practically stealing laptops, phones, and burglary, when people have gone to work and Church. We have arrested six people, ranging from the age of 29 to 69 years. Their offense is conspiracy and breaking and stealing of laptops, and stealing of motorcycles.
“We equally have a 69-year-old man who specializes in stealing Okada. He has boys who work for him; they hit them from the back and dispossess them of the Okada. We have one Dayo and Tosin who specialize in stealing pumping machines.
“We equally have Aliu, who was arrested in Poly Road, Owo, for breaking and entry and stealing of electrical materials, and he was arrested with what he stole. We have a Yaris that was arrested for having firearms that are not licensed to him.
“There is a Kabiru that was arrested for being in possession of stolen materials. We also have a particularly pathetic case of a 16-year-old girl that our eagle-eyed detective picked up in Ore, five months ago, who has been molested and found wandering around the bridge in Ore.. Upon interrogation, we found out that he had been drugged to the extent that it took her four months to remember her name.
“Thereafter, we rehabilitated her in our health facility. I want to thank the matron of the Ondo State Security Network Agency Clinic for taking very good care of her to the extent that she has now revived herself, came back to life, and was able to tell us that she came from somewhere in Oyo. So what we did was to now trace the parents after six months to Oyo, and we found out that the parents willingly gave her to a ward in Ore.
“The child is here, the wards are here with us, we have successfully rehabilitated her, and we believe that after the union with the family, she will come back to society as a full-fledged human being again. This is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Corps in the area of rehabilitation of victims of criminal activities.”
“I equally want to thank our mother agencies, the Police, NSCDC, DSS, who refused to be tired of our calling 24-7 to geolocate kidnappers. Amotekun is just five years old, and we got to this level with the support of the good people of Ondo State. So we want to thank the good people of Ondo State for their support.
“We are here today to let you know that the security architecture of Ondo State is firm, and the best criminals can do is to run away from this state. The joint patrol team in some parts of the state is still ongoing. And I can tell you this for free that we have dominated the forest. It is no longer a safe place for criminals to thrive.
“Farmers can go back to their farms, what we are saying is that when you see something, quickly say something and let us intervene because if you delay, the delay might be dangerous.”