*A criminal is a criminal; we don’t discriminate — Amotekun boss
*Says border gaps complicate security
*97 suspects paraded
By Dayo Johnson, Akure
OWO — It started like any other grazing day. Abubakar Umaru and Abdullahi Umaru, both teenagers, led their family’s cattle towards the grasslands near Owo, on the boundary between Ondo and Edo states.
They carried sticks, not phones. They knew the paths by memory. By dusk, they were not home. Neither were the cows.
In border communities, that silence is loud. Parents wait. Then they start asking questions. This time, the questions went to the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun.
First the cows, then the boys
Amotekun Commander in Ondo State, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said the operation began after the boys’ parents reported that they had failed to return home.
“This rescue is unique in the sense that, out of the hundreds of rescued victims, we singled out this particular situation where two Fulani boys were kidnapped and their cattle rescued in our local government,” Adeleye said in Akure.
He added: “We swung into action because they reported that the children who went out did not return on time.”
Operatives first recovered the cattle and then followed the trail deeper into the forest, past farmlands and villages, towards an area straddling Ondo and Edo states.
“When it became apparent that the boys had been kidnapped, we went deep into the forest, linking Ondo to Edo, into an area called Abuja Forest between Ondo and Edo in Owo Local Government,” Adeleye explained.
At the hideout, the kidnappers fled on sighting the security operatives. The boys were rescued, while two suspects were arrested.
They forcefully took us
Afterwards, Abubakar and Abdullahi recounted their ordeal in low voices. Suspected kidnappers had pulled them away from the cattle and marched them into a distant part of the forest. They said they were scared until Amotekun operatives arrived.
For families in Owo and along the border, it is a familiar fear. Herders leave early, return late and are often alone. When they do not return, the forest keeps its secrets.
“A criminal is a criminal” — Amotekun boss
Adeleye thanked residents for providing timely intelligence and reiterated the corps’ non-discriminatory stance.
“The Ondo State Security Network Agency does not discriminate. A criminal from Yoruba, from Igbo, from Hausa, or from Fulani is a criminal. We treat them as such,” he said.
97 suspects paraded, new trends flagged
Adeleye also spoke about broader operations, saying 97 suspected criminals were recently paraded for kidnapping, violation of the anti-open grazing law, burglary, robbery, vehicle hijacking and theft.
“We equally arrested some individuals who confessed to being informants and suppliers to kidnappers in the forest, as well as confirmed members of kidnapping groups,” he said.
He flagged what he described as a new trend involving women of different ages travelling into interior forests with household utensils, mortars, pestles, bedding and cooking items.
“Upon interrogation, they confirmed they were fleeing security pressure in the North. They admitted they were invited by some members of these northern groups to destabilise peace in the southern part of the state,” he said.
The Amotekun boss cited the case of one suspect who invited two people to work, but who allegedly brought 51 others into the forest with various goods. Another group of 16, allegedly invited by a “farmer,” was heading towards the restive Ose/Owo forest axis.
He disclosed that the arrests also included members of armed robbery and kidnapping gangs operating in Ikare, Kajola, Akure, Ilu-Abo, Akure North, Mure, Oja-Mokan and other locations.
Amotekun also arrested two persons who allegedly pretended to be mentally ill.
“They admitted they were paid to provide information. Some used the disguise to conceal their identities. We visited hospitals where they obtained medical cards to support the deception,” Adeleye said.
He said another syndicate visited residents at night, pretending to be guests, before locking occupants indoors, producing firearms, forcing money transfers, stealing vehicles and locking victims up. Amotekun recovered the stolen vehicles.
“We also recovered a vehicle used in an attack on our team at midnight to facilitate the criminals’ escape. It was later driven into the forest and abandoned,” he added.
Adeleye said suspects were profiled across the Southern, Central and Northern senatorial districts.
“I recall raising concerns two years ago about the influx of young men. At that time, we arranged for truckloads to be transported back,” he said.
Border gaps, joint operations
The commander credited the relative stability in the state to synergy among the police, army, civil defence, DSS, local vigilantes and other security associations.
He said the corps had been confronted in the forests “on not less than 60 different occasions” and had driven back attackers each time. He noted that some reported kidnappings in the last six months involved victims who were allegedly set up by relatives.
Adeleye said the absence of Amotekun in neighbouring Edo, Kogi and Kwara states makes operations difficult. However, he said collaboration with vigilantes in the Akunu axis bordering Kogi and the Ago Saboro axis bordering Edo had yielded results.
“To stop the proliferation of criminals, we strengthen our border patrols in places where there is no Amotekun Corps. We join the Nigerian Army and the police in manning entry points,” he said.
Adeleye expressed optimism that joint clearance operations with the army would “completely eradicate these miscreants from our forest very soon.”
In Abuja Forest that day, ethnicity did not matter. What mattered were two boys found, cattle recovered and parents who got their children back.
For Amotekun, it was another rescue.
But for Abubakar and Abdullahi, it was the day they left with cows and returned home alive.
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