Amotekun Parades 27 Suspected Criminals in Ondo
Fidelis David in Akure
Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun Corpsyesterday paraded 27 suspected criminals arrested for various offences across the state within two weeks.
The state Commander of the Corps, AdetunjiAdeleye, while parading the suspects at the Command’s headquarters in Akure attributed the success to the directive of the state Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who recently directed the Corps to establish additional six control points within the state forests to counter the activities of criminals terrorising residents of the state.
Specifically, Adeleye explai-ned that the establishment of the specialised unit within the Amotekun Corps called ‘Amot Rangers’ has led to reduction in herders/farmers clashes in the Northern senatorial district among other crimes in the state.
According to him, “We are parading 27 suspected criminals that engaged in various security breaches across Ondo State and across the board.”
“I want to say that despite pockets of security breaches, the security situation of the state is good.
“The Amotekun Rangers that was launched by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been yielding a lot of dividends. For instance, it is the activity of the Amotekun Rangers that yielded all these criminals that we picked in the border towns between Edo and Kogi States. And because they are domicile right in the forests, it’s easy for them to go after them. And right now, as we talk, they are in the extreme end of Ose and Akoko, where there are security breaches right now.”
Among the 27 suspects, Adeleye said the corps arrested Michael Ojo, 22, who is a member of a syndicate that devised special means of dispossessing innocent motorcycle riders of their motorcycles and killing them.
He said: “You will recall that at the last parade we did, we arrested one of the major members of a syndicate that specialises in killing Okana riders, robbing them, and some of them were at large. We went as far as Kogi and Edo States, before we were able to track and arrest Michael Ojo who is here on parade.
“He has confessed to stealing so many motorcycles. He said he lost count of them and dispossessed them, dismantled them, takes them out of the state, as in pieces. He’s been engaging in it, according to him, 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 why he engages in such trade. He operates in Akure and moves to either Uso or Ogbese. He sells the bikes for N30,000 and N50,000.”
The Corps commander said: “We also have Oladimeji and Imole, they only steal bikeswhere they are parked. We have Usman Shehu, Ojo, Temidayo, and Pelemo. Four of them were the people that had joined their colleagues in kidnapping activities around iKakumo-Akoko. We have the four of them here.
“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, he said: “We have Wakili Ibrahim, who has been arrested several times and since he’s 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 amounts 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 item. This is a message for people at home.”
