…..Arrest 31 rape, murder, kidnapping suspects.
……as Ondo Govt assures Corps members, residents of their safety in Ikare.
By: Oluwatosin Adesola
The Ondo State Security Network, code-named Amotekun Corps, has warned the people of the state to be security conscious to prevent illegal herdsmen who are recently attempting to flood forests in the state.
The Corps Commander, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, made the call in Akure while parading 31 suspects arrested for different crimes ranging from raping, illegal grazing, kidnapping, armed robbery and murder cases.
Akogun Adeleye who disclosed that the state had in the last one month experiencing sudden influx of illegal herdsmen into the state, lamented that
He disclosed that the herders came into the state through border communities in Edo and Kogi states with large number of cattle.
The corps Commander revealed that they came in trucks with loads which they refused the joint security patrol team to search.
He, however, noted that only herdsmen who registered with the state government would be allowed in the state, warning the illegal ones to stay away.
“The reality is that in the last month, we have a very heavy annoying unusual influx of herdsmen to the state. We have to drive them back to where they came from.
“In the last one month, we are confronted with over 9000 herders against the laws of the land. They moved them in the midnight and they masquerade as different forms of criminals,” Mr Adeleye told reporters while parading over 31 suspects arrested for different criminal cases in Ondo,” Akogun Adeleye said.
Meanwhile, the Amotekun Corps Commander has called on Corps members serving in the state and prospective graduates posted to the state to go about their duties peacefully.
He assured that the recent crisis that broke out in Ikare-Akoko, the host community of the NYSC orientation camp, has been quelled and security has been beefed up in the town.
Akogun Adeleye, therefore, called on all corps members who may want to go to the camp to do so without nursing any fear.
In joint patrols during Easter and Salah holidays, no fewer than 45 suspects were apprehended by the patrol teams for criminal cases including rape, illegal possession of firearms, ritual, arson, stealing among others.
Akogun Adetunji Adeleye disclosed that investigations had been concluded on 31 among the suspects and would be arraigned soon.
Among the suspects paraded was a syndicate that specialises in stealing native goats in large number and selling same to unsuspected buyers.
Speaking on the three persons kidnapped along Igoba/Iju road, the Amotekun Corps chief disclosed that two among them had been resolved while the remaining one was near rescue.
He revealed that following the incident, the Amotekun Corps and other security agencies in the state, including the Army, in a joint patrol combed the forests in Iju and Ita Ogbolu chasing out criminals from the forests.
Akogun Adeleye said the criminals that were chased out of the forests were those that manoeuvred through Ekiti State entering Ondo State in the night.
He, therefore, assured the people of the state of security of life and property, urging the people to report any suspected movement in their neighbourhood to the security agencies in the state.
