The Ondo State Commander of the Security Network, Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, has alerted the increasing insecurity at the border locations of the state, attributing the development to the heavy presence of security personnel in Ekiti State.
This is just as the Amotekun Commander disclosed that security operatives from the state, including police, Army and other security agencies, have been combing the border area between Ondo and Kogi States to secure the release of some abducted victims who were kidnapped last weekend
Adeleye, who explained that the kidnapping event being circulated on social media happened at the Kogi State border, said the kidnapping took place in a border community between Ondo and Kogi State.
He noted that criminals usually flee to towns in Kogi and Edo after they have perpetrated the crime strike in Ondo and expressed concerns over the development.
Adeleye said the cases of kidnapping within the boundaries of Ondo, Edo, and Kogi states are becoming worrisome and called for the collaboration of the security personnel from the three states.
The Ondo Amotekun Commander said: ” We still have issues with security challenges on our borders, especially the Kogi/Ondo border and the Edo/Ondo border. We are working on it and collaborating with other security agencies.
“As of yesterday morning, a combined team of security men, specifically the Army from Kogi and Ondo, the Police from Kogi and Ondo, and Amotekun from Ondo, joined hands together to try to fish out the perpetrators of the last kidnapping around the Akunu/Ayere axis in Kogi/Ondo.
“The actual thing that you saw on social media happened in between those two communities, and we have been raising alarm in places where we don’t have the grassroots local security that we can work with.
” We have been having issues, but we are happy, however, that the people of the community joined and collaborated with us, and the search still continues.”
He said, “We have been able to go this far because the governor specifically gave a directive to fish out all these perpetrators of evil, especially along the border.
“The state governor also gave a directive to all security agencies to ensure that this week and next week, as we commence the activities to honour our late governor, the father of Amotekun in the Southwest, Akeredolu, the governor said there must be no security breach.
“All hands are being put in place to ensure that people come in happily and freely to celebrate the exit of an icon that all of us know.”
Speaking on the arrest of some. Among the suspected criminals, which include kidnappers, burglars, and other criminals, Adeleye said there was a surge in the activities of kidnappers.
According to him, more than half of the suspects were involved in kidnapping cases, saying they were picked and arrested across the 18 local government areas of the state.
He said, “Today, we have 43 suspected criminals picked from across our various operations across the 18 local government areas of Ondo State. The astonishing thing about our parade today is the sudden upsurge in the suspects that we have on kidnapping.
“About half of the 43 suspects are suspected kidnappers that we have reasonable reasons to question. We have over 50, but those that we have here have reason to be here for questioning because of what we found around them.
“I want to trace this to the heavy presence of security personnel in Ekiti, and I want to believe that they are being driven to Ondo State, but we want to tell you that Ondo State can never be a haven for criminals.
“We have risen to the challenge and all of them that we have picked in kidnapping scenes, during kidnapping, and during attempts to kidnap with credible information while victims identify some of them.”
He also noted a reduction in the number of burglars and housebreakers except on Sundays, while some are arrested with local arms and ammunition.
He said, “This week, we have a sharp decline in the number of houses. breaking because we have commenced footwalks, especially on Sundays when people have gone to church and during working hours when people are at work.
“We also have some that we arrested with local arms and ammunition, and we’re not able to justify what they wanted to do with the arms and ammunition.
“We now walk and trek around the metropolis, which I think is one of the reasons we have a decline in the number of shops.
“As against the backdrop of the sharp decline of herders destruction of farmland in other areas, we have an increase in the number of herders farmers clashes in the northern part of the state, and these are actually the areas where we have security breaches.”
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