By Oludamisi Ojo, Akure
Ondo State commandant of Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye has said that Ondo State is not a place where criminals can thrive, even as the agency arrested 80 suspected criminals in the last three weeks.
He spoke while parading some criminals at the command headquarters over the weekend.
According to him “In the last three weeks, 80 suspected criminals were arrested. In the last week, about 32 were taken to court for prosecution, investigations are going on in most of these ones and some of them at the end of the day were found to be victims of circumstances.
“Like those that came out without a means of identification at odd hours and are found where they are not supposed to be, those ones upon proper interrogation were released to go, some were released on bail”.
He added that the suspected criminals included women who engaged in various criminal activities ranging from murder to anti-grazing, stealing of motorcycles, stealing of grinding machines, stealing of Keke Napep, stealing of various household equipment, including generators, and armed robbery.
“Majority of those that we were parading today, having concluded the investigations, some of them will be going to court, early in the week or next week. This is what we have been able to put together since last three weeks”.
“Criminal is criminal, regardless of where they come from, we don’t want to give color to criminality, a criminal is a criminal. Once you engage in criminal activities, the signal we are sending is that Ondo State is not a place where you can thrive as a criminal, the criminals should better leave Ondo State, not only within the town but within the forest.
“Some of these criminals were arrested right inside the forest. Again, the anti-open grazing law is in force in Ondo State where we discouraged the use of underaged for grazing, especially when they engage in destruction of farm products.”
“Some of them engaged in very massive destruction, we arrested some of those that were engaged in the destruction of one of the principal officers PDP that went viral, saying that his farm was destroyed, we caught them and we brought them to book, they are part of those people who are being paraded here, four of them were involved”.
He however urged those people who walk at night to always have with them a means of identification.
