From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Security Network Agency, otherwise known as Operation Amotekun, said it has apprehended more than 4,000 suspected criminals across the 18 local government areas of the state, in the last five months.
The agency alleged that the suspects were involved in various criminal activities ranging from kidnapping to armed robbery, human trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and open grazing among others.
Addressing newsmen at the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, the Amotekun Corps Commandant, Mr Adetunji Adeleye, said the suspects were arrested between January and May this year. He said the criminal activities allegedly committed by the suspects were also committed in the same period.
Adeleye said the corps was committed to making the state crime-free and would not relent on its “Operation Clean-Up” to eradicate crime in the state.
He noted that the crime rate in the state has dropped by over 70 percent going by statistics available to him.
He urged the general public to give a timely report on any untoward incident as the agency relies on quality and timely information for its operations.
He said: “They should notify the agency of any suspicious movement through any of the agency’s channels, and our men will swing into action immediately.
“Across the board, we recorded very low criminal activities in the state; that is not to say that there are no violences here and there, like armed robbery and kidnapping cases. Very recently, we launched a massive attack, in collaboration with the military, on the kidnappers in the four local government areas in Akoko, Ose and Owo local government areas, and it actually yielded a lot of results,” he added.
Adeleye hinted that criminals take advantage of the absence of Amotekun Corps in Kogi and Edo, to perpetrate dastardly acts in the state, being a neighbouring state to the two states.
However, he disclosed that the security outfit has concluded arrangements to collaborate with the military in both Edo and Kogi states, to ensure peace in the state.
