As part of efforts to rescue the six abducted pupils and teachers of Apostolic Faith Nursery/Primary School, Emure-Ekiti, Ekiti State, men of the Amotekun corps from Ondo state have been drafted to comb the forest in Ekiti to secure the release of the victims.
The men were drafted to Ekiti on the order of the state governor, Lucky Ayedatiwa to assist security agencies in the state in searching for the kidnappers and rescue the kidnapped victims.
The Ondo Amotekun Commander, Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed this during the parade of 31 suspected criminals in Akure, said over 100 men of Amotekun from the state were deployed to Ekiti State to search for and rescue the victims.
Adeleye disclosed that some suspects have been arrested during the combing of Ekiti forests, saying the investigation is ongoing while the search for the pupils continued.
Adeleye said “In the spirit of brotherliness, the state governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa had directed the deployment of Amotekun personnel to work with their counterpart in Ekiti to secure the release of the pupils and arrest the killers of the monarchs.
“A couple of hours ago, we had an unfortunate incident in Ekiti and the governor of Ondo State directed we moved in the interest of brotherliness to assist in the security situation in Ekiti State. We deployed 100 personnel to assist Ekiti’s command.
“We’ve been there in the last 48 hours. Some arrests have been made and we will continue until the perpetrators of such dastardly acts are arrested.”
It will be recalled that Ekiti state was under siege on Monday as gunmen shot dead two monarchs and abducted six pupils, three teachers and a driver of an elementary school at different locations on the same day.
Speaking on the 31 crime suspects paraded at the headquarters of the formation at Alagbaka, Akure, the Amotekun Corps commander said some kidnap suspects were arrested and an investigation has commenced on their operations in the state.
He disclosed that the 24-hour patrol of the formation with the collaboration of other security agencies in the state paid off in checking criminal activities in the state.
He said the joint border patrol between Ondo and Osun states Amotekun Corps has been reinforced to prevent travellers from being attacked or molested by criminals.
He, however, warned against illegal entry of any forest reserve in the state without permission and complying with all laid down rules and regulations by the state government.
“You will recall that in the last three months, we’ve been on this. We want to reassure the people of Ondo that the state, security -wise is intact. We will continue with our 24-hour patrol, we will continue to track all criminals from the cities to the forestry reserves and ensure that travellers can move unmolested.
“So, I want to assure the good people of Ondo State that there is no problem. The state is safe. But, the people have a duty to report any suspicious movement in their environment to us on time, so that we can be proactive and ensure that before it gets out of hand, this is nipped in the bud.
“We have a sudden upsurge of visitors coming in from different parts of the country, in the name of hunting. The state government had made it clear that anybody that will carry out any activity in the forestry reserves must take permission”.
Speaking on how the current wave of crimes across the federation could be checked, Adeleye charged the federal government to approve the creation of state police.
According to him, state police would make it easier for each state to protect its people as they would be able to identify any new entrant in their community.
Adeleye, therefore, called on the people of the state to report any strange moves in their areas and avoid commercial motorbike riders wearing hoods as face masks, warning that they are criminals.
He also enjoined everyone who moves around in the night to always be with their identification cards as the state Amotekun would not relent on its resolve to chase away criminals from the state.
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