Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, otherwise known as Amotekun Corps, have arrested a 54-year-old suspected kidnapper for allegedly raiding and razing a community in the Northern Senatorial District of the state.
The suspect identified as Usman Garuba, was apprehended in his hideout along with some members of his gang at the Ala Dada/Ago Oyinbo axis of Akure, the state capital.
According to the Amotekun Commander, Adetunji Adeleye, while parading the suspect along with 61 others at the corps’ headquarters, the kidnapping kingpin is a jailbird who had, before his arrest, kidnapped nine people and collected ransom from their families for their release.
Adeleye disclosed that when villagers in one of the communities along his axis of operations resisted him, Garuba returned at midnight with his gang and razed their homes before fleeing.
Acting on a tip-off, men of the Amotekun Corps stormed Garuba’s hideout and were subsequently arrested along with the other five members of the gang.
Found in their possession were guns, bullets, cash received as ransom, food items, and other consumable items.
When profiled, it was discovered that Garuba and two other members of his gang had been convicted and jailed twice for different crimes.
Adetunji: “Today, we are parading 62 suspected criminals arrested across the 18 local government areas and local council development areas of Ondo State.
“He (Garuba) was arrested around the Ala/Dada/Ago-Oyinbo axis. He successfully kidnapped over nine people and collected a ransom. At a point in one of the villages, because he attempted to fight him, he led five other people back at night and burned down the whole village. So, we have him in our custody, and he’s also an ex-convict.”
Among the suspects arrested and paraded by Amotekun were burglars and rustlers who specialised in stealing goats and conveying them to Ondo City, where residents cherish and relish Asun (barbecued goat meat).
Appreciating other security agencies—the Army, Police, NSCDC, DSS, and others—for their support, the Special Adviser to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Security Matters stated that the assistance and existing synergy between Amotekun Corps and other agencies made it possible to make the state uncomfortable and impossible for criminals to hide.
He appreciated the people of the state for providing security agencies with information on suspected criminal activities in their areas that led to the arrest of the suspects.
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