The Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, has arrested 53 suspects, including 21 undocumented foreign nationals allegedly residing in two apartments in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of the state.
The suspects were among those paraded by the corps at its headquarters in Akure on Monday for alleged involvement in various criminal activities, including kidnapping, self-kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, burglary, stealing and cultism.
Parading the suspects, the state commander of the corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said the 21 foreigners were arrested following intelligence provided by members of the Fulani community in the state.
Adeleye said the suspects claimed to have entered Nigeria from neighbouring West African countries to engage in menial jobs and phone repairs but could not produce documents authorising their stay in the country.
He said the command had observed an influx of foreigners moving through the state’s forests and cities under different guises in recent months.
The commander said, “I want to call the attention of the general public to the embarrassing way that foreigners traverse the state’s forests and cities under different guises.
“Consistently in the last three months, we’ve been having foreigners pretending to be selling phones, pretending to be repairing phones, living in hotels that what they came into the country for is not commensurate with.
“We’ve directed them to the relevant sister security agencies for scrutiny.
“Again today, we have 21 of them that rented only two apartments in Owo under the guise of coming in from neighbouring West African countries to do menial jobs and repairs of phones, being coordinated and assisted by indigenes.
“We found out that they don’t even have ECOWAS papers to guarantee their stay.”
Adeleye said the landlords of the apartments could also face scrutiny, alleging that they were more concerned about collecting rent than knowing the identities and activities of their tenants.
He warned that undocumented foreigners abandoned by their sponsors could become vulnerable to recruitment into criminal activities.
“Apart from being likely to be suspected illegal immigrants, most times when their sponsors abandon them, they become ready tools as criminals and accomplices,” he said.
The commander, however, said the 21 foreigners were being handed over to the appropriate government agency for further investigation and necessary action.
Meanwhile, Adeleye said the command had also uncovered a self-kidnapping syndicate involving four suspects who allegedly used social media to raise false alarms and demand money.
He said the suspects included a man who reportedly alerted the Amotekun Corps that his siblings had been kidnapped but was later found to be an accomplice.
According to him, investigators arrested two suspects and subsequently traced the purported kidnap victim to his home.
“We have four people here today that give self-kidnapping and raise false alarms using social media. We moved in and were able to arrest the first two.
“Upon detailed investigation, we found out that the man who rushed to the Amotekun Corps office to report that his siblings were kidnapped turned out to be an accomplice. And upon detailed scrutiny, he led us to his home where we found the man they claimed had been kidnapped,” he said.
Adeleye also disclosed that seven other suspects were arrested for alleged kidnapping activities following collaboration with members of the Fulani community.
He said a military uniform was recovered from one of the suspected kidnappers during the operation, while two kidnapped boys were rescued.
According to him, one of the victims sustained machete injuries to his head and body during the attack but was rescued alive and taken for medical treatment.
He said, “With the cooperation we received from the Fulani community, we were able to jointly carry out an operation where a military uniform was recovered from one of the kidnappers, and we successfully retrieved the two kidnapped boys, though wounded.
“In an attempt to kill one of them, they macheted his head, his body and every part of him. We brought him back alive and he is now stable.”
Adeleye commended members of the Fulani community for their cooperation in identifying and apprehending suspected criminal elements within their community.
He also thanked the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, for supporting the corps in its efforts to combat crime across the state.
