Fidelis David in Akure
Men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun, have arrested 149 suspected criminals with guns, charms, cutlasses, swords, catapults loaded in trucks from different black spots across the state.
The Ondo State Commander of Amotekun, Mr. Adetunji Adeleye, who paraded the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Akure, said that the state has been experiencing influx of strange people within the state forest reserve areas.
Adleye explained that the suspects were inside trucks when they were arrested from three local government areas of the state.
He said: “A couple of weeks ago, we started having very heavy influx of strange people within our forest reserve areas and within the Ondo State territory.
“Majority of these people who claimed that they were coming into the state as hunters, were arrested around the black spots where we have robbery operations and kidnapping in the local governments where they were nabbed.
“They surprisingly and carefully concealed and kept their weapons, bags of Indian hemps and cutlasses under their vehicles and they claimed that they are coming from various part of the country.
“The pertinent questions we are asking them are: “Why are they hiding their guns? If they are genuine hunters, why not come out openly?
“And one begins to wonder why they would come from the extreme parts of the country to hunt in a village, in a forest they have never been to before in Ondo State? No doubt, as Nigerians, they have the right to go to anywhere in the country, but they do not have the right to go with weapons. As hunters, we had expected that they would have made consultations to find out their limitations.
“In Ondo State Forestry reserves, the government is very clear, that if you are a hunter and wants to go into the forest, you have to register, so that government, the kings and the hunters will know that you are there.”
Adeleye stressed that “we want to appeal to commuters, that if you have any reason to do your legitimate business in Ondo State, please consult the relevant agencies and to our ‘baales’, the ‘kabiyesis’ and the good people of the state, we can no longer tolerate this kind of people without mission, entering our forest areas.
“We have very strong reasons to believe that they are the people that turn at night to kidnappers, armed robbers and commit various crimes, especially in the bad portions of the roads and in the forest reserves of the state.
“When we finish investigation, we will send them to relevant government agencies for detailed profiling and those that would be sent back to their states will be sent back, but those we find guilty of criminal intentions will be tried in the court of competent jurisdiction.”
