Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun Corps, has intercepted suspected fleeing bandits and their family members allegedly relocating from northern Nigeria into forests and communities in the state, while gunmen have abducted a community leader in Owo Local Government Area.
The Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed this while parading 97 suspects arrested across the state within the last 14 days for offences ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery and vehicle theft to unlawful occupation of forest reserves and violations of the anti-open grazing law.
Adeleye said security operatives uncovered what appeared to be a coordinated movement of people into forest areas, noting that some of those intercepted included women and children travelling with household items such as bedding, cooking utensils, mortars and pestles.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that many of them claimed they were fleeing military operations against terrorists in northern Nigeria and had been invited by relatives already living in forest settlements and communities in Ondo State.
“We have a group that was invited by some members of these northern groups to come and destabilise the peace in the southern part of the state. One individual told us he invited only two people to work for him, but those two brought 51 others. These individuals arrived in two lorries loaded with different types of goods to an area where they had never been before. It is highly suspicious.”
The Amotekun commander further disclosed that another group of 16 persons allegedly invited by a farmer was intercepted while heading towards the Ose/Owo forest axis, an area that has repeatedly come under security scrutiny.
He said women and children among the intercepted persons would be returned to their states through collaboration with Miyetti Allah and Hausa community leaders, while anyone found to have criminal links would be prosecuted.
Among the 97 suspects paraded were alleged kidnappers, armed robbers, burglars, vehicle thieves, informants and logistics suppliers to criminal gangs operating within forests across the state.
Adeleye said some suspects confessed to providing information to kidnappers, while two others allegedly disguised themselves as mentally unstable persons and even obtained hospital cards to conceal their identities and gather intelligence for criminal elements.
He also revealed that security operatives dismantled a robbery syndicate notorious for posing as visitors before attacking their victims.
“In one local government area, we were able to break a syndicate that specialised in visiting innocent residents at night while pretending to be guests,” he said.
“They entered homes without firing a shot, locked the doors, brought out guns, ate, rested, and in the early hours of the morning forced victims to transfer money before taking vehicle keys and locking the occupants inside.”
Adeleye said several stolen vehicles were recovered from suspects, including a vehicle allegedly used in an attack on security personnel before it was abandoned in a forest.
He warned traditional rulers, community leaders and residents against accommodating strangers without proper profiling, stressing that the influx of suspicious persons posed a serious threat to the state’s security.
Meanwhile, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers invaded Ode Oriya Village in Owo Local Government Area and abducted the Baale of the community, Mr. Adeniyi Adelana.
The Ondo State Police Command through the Police Public Relations Officer, Abayomi Jimoh, said the incident occurred at about 8:05 p.m. on Saturday when about six armed men stormed the residence of the 60-year-old community leader under the cover of darkness and whisked him away through a nearby bush path to an unknown destination.
The Command disclosed that upon receiving the distress report, the Divisional Police Officer of B Division, Owo, immediately mobilised a combined team of police operatives and other security personnel to the scene, while a comprehensive search-and-rescue operation was launched.
“During the attack, the victim’s wife sustained a gunshot injury to her right hand and was rushed to a medical facility where she is responding to treatment.”
According to the police, tactical teams have since intensified combing operations across forests, bush paths and suspected escape routes in a bid to rescue the monarch and apprehend the kidnappers.
“Commissioner of Police Felix Ohagwu has directed all tactical units, intelligence assets and operational teams of the Command to ensure the safe rescue of the victim and bring those responsible to justice.”
Fidelis David
