The Ondo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun Corps, on Tuesday paraded no fewer than 28 suspected criminals arrested in the state.
The corps said the suspects were arrested across the 18 local government areas of the state, in collaboration with other security agencies and the local vigilante.
Parading the suspects at the headquarters of the command in Akure, the state capital, the commander of the corps, Adetunji Adeleye, said they had allegedly been terrorising the state in recent times.
According to Adeleye, the suspects were allegedly involved in various crimes such as kidnapping, theft, stealing, cattle rustling, and 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 socio-economic 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 per cent and we don’t want to relent. Hence, our fight is not against the criminals alone, but against their sponsors.
“The people we are parading today, there is a section of them that steal, kill, murder riders and dispossess them of their motorcycles. 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’ve arrested the suspect, we’ve 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, Kana, Sam, and Daniel, ages ranging 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.”
The Amotekun boss commended the other security agencies in the state for collaborating with it in the fight against crime and criminality.
He stated, “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.”
In July, the corps arrested seven suspects for various offences, including kidnapping and the theft of electronics in the state.
Adeleye said the corps recovered items worth N300 million during recent operations.