Ondo Amotekun Rangers storm Edo, Kogi Borders to arrest suspects, parade 27 criminals

DAMISI OJO, Àkure

The Ondo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) on Monday paraded 27 suspects arrested in connection with various criminal offences across the state.

However, the Commander of the outfit, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said the security situation in the state is relatively peaceful in spite of pockets of security breaches.

According to him, the Amotekun Rangers Corps stormed Edo/ Kogi Borders to arrest one Michael Ojo who specializes in snatching Okada motorcycles and killing of their operators.

For instance, on law and order, he said: “We have 22 suspects within the period under review. On pending enforcement, there is no infringement. On land and chieftaincy, there are no issues. Anti-grazing farmers/herders clashes, we had six but we have resolved five, the remaining one will go to court. On human trafficking, none today”.

Adeleye said the suspect had confessed to stealing so many motorcycles, stressing that he has lost count of them and dispossessed them, dismantled them, and took them out of the state in pieces.

“He has been engaging in it in the last five years, but in the last one year, he intensified it because there is now pressure on Okada, and it’s now more expensive. So, he said that’s why he engages in such trade. He operates in Akure and moves to either Uso or Ogbese. He sells the bikes for between N30,000 and N50,000.

The Commander disclosed that four other criminals including Usman Shehu, Ojo,Temidayo, and Pelemo were joining their colleagues in kidnapping activities around Ikakumo-Akoko.

He said: “We have Akerele Ibrahim, who is also a criminal that has been under tracking for some time, but this time around, he went and threatened to kill a farmer, having destroyed his farmland in Akoko area too. We’ve been able to arrest him after evading arrest for so long, we have him here.

“On anti-grazing, we have Wakili Ibrahim, who has been arrested several times and since he is not repentant, he will be going to face the full wrath of the law on anti-grazing charges.

“We also have those that specialize in breaking shops, a shop that engages in the sales of mattresses was completely emptied by them, and they sold these at cheap prices to people. So, we went after them, retrieved them from those that bought them, because a mattress that would normally go for N100,000 is being sold for N10,000, for 5,000. So, somebody should know that is a stolen material. This is a message for people at home.

“Also, we have about five of them that stole household equipment and foodstuffs, probably because of the economic situation. Those we would handle them using the alternative dispute resolution method, the ones we can retrieve, we will return them to the owner”.

Adeleye enthused that the Amotekun Rangers that was launched recently has been performing well.

According to him, it is the activity of the Amotekun Rangers that yielded all these criminals that they picked in the border towns between Edo and Kogi.

He said since they are domiciled right in the forests, it was so easy for them to go after the criminals.

The security expert said they are presently in the extreme end of Ose and Akoko, where there are security breaches right now.

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