Ondo Amotekun arraigns 175 suspects in three months

The Commander of Ondo State Security Network, known as Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, on Wednesday, disclosed that the efforts of the men of Amotekun have led to the arrest of a total of 750 high-profile crime suspects in the state.

Adeleye who gave this revelation while parading some 31 crime suspects arrested in the state in the last two weeks across the 18 local government areas of the state, said 175 among the crime suspects have been arraigned between January and March this year.

The Corps Commander while reeling out the statistics of the formation in the first quarter of year, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the joint operations (Operation Dada) by security agencies in the state, which was put in place to stem the rising kidnap incidents and attacks on farmers by armed herdsmen in farmsteads in the state.

Adeleye, who commended the public for their timely information said the information assisted the Corps a great deal in arresting some of the suspects and preventing them from carrying out their heinous plans.

According to him, over 500 distress calls were received by the formation to which prompt responses were made, saying some 114 persons, who stormed the state’s forests without a specific destination, were intercepted by the Amo Rangers.

He disclosed that the state governor, Dr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has given directives that all those who do not have credible reason to remain in the forest to be ejected, saying they have been sent back to their various states.

Adeleye also informed that a sum of $5000 was recovered from the syndicate that specialized in defrauding unsuspecting persons through US Visa, and the owners, who were from Ghana, have received the money.

He said 28 Ghanaians, among the several victims of the scam, have been advised to return to their country.

The Corps Commander revealed that out of 150 suspected cultists arrested and profiled during the quarter, 80 among them were taken to court to sign undertaking to denounce the groups.

However, he disclosed that besides the 175 suspects arraigned, others were still undergoing different stages of investigation, explaining that among the fresh 31 crime suspects being paraded, 13 of them were allegedly linked to the series of kidnap incidents in the state in the recent time.

He said some of the arrested suspects were people supplying daily needs of kidnappers in their dens and called on the members of the public to be wary of scavengers who are working as spies for bandits and kidnappers.

He disclosed that Governor Aiyedatiwa has promised to outlaw scavenging in the state after concluding arrangements for refuse disposal across the 18 local government areas of the state.

The Corps Commander disclosed that 32 persons arrested for riding commercial motorcycles between 8:00 pm and 5:00 am were forgiven being first offenders, saying the arrested offenders would be arraigned.

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