Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, are currently interrogating no fewer than 17 suspected bandits arrested with over 30 dogs, cutlasses and charms.
Reports revealed that they were arrested after they stormed Okititpupa town, the headquarters of Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state, and could not explain their mission to residents who were alarmed.
Amotekun officials in the South-West states had on Thursday said the regional outfit was on the alert following renewed attacks by killer herdsmen and terrorists in Ondo State.
The officials in Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti states had disclosed that they had received credible intelligence that terrorists and bandits fleeing military operations in the North-West would seek refuge in the forests of the southern states.
They therefore said they had commenced combing forests in the region for the fleeing terrorists.
Although the corps had yet to link those arrested at Okitipupa to a particular crime, residents panicked over their suspicious movement within the town on Thursday and alerted the personnel who arrested them.
The Commander of Amotekun in the state, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, was quoted by Daily Post that the northerners stated that an unnamed person invited them to the state.
He said, “They were people who claimed to have come from the northern part of the country with dogs, charms and cutlasses and the people of Okitipupa area who were not comfortable with them raised the alarm.
“But on interrogation, they claimed they were invited to Okitipupa by somebody and that they are actually working for the person. All attempts to reach the person they claimed to work for have not yielded any result till date.
“However, we want to warn residents to be vigilant when they see what I will call mysterious things. We have over 30 dogs among able bodied men who don’t even know where they are going. They claimed they were dropped in Okitipupa by a vehicle and that the vehicle had left.
“This calls for a very serious concern looking at the very serious security situation in the country. Investigation into who brought them and their real mission is still ongoing. They were attempting to enter the forest behind the military barracks in Okitipupa when they were arrested.”
