The Ondo State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, has apprehended no fewer than 149 suspected criminals from various black spots across the state.
The suspects were intercepted while inside trucks in three different Local Council Areas of the state.
Commander of the Corps, Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed this while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital.
According to him, “A couple of weeks ago, we started having a very heavy influx of strange people within our forest reserve areas and within the Ondo State territory.
“The majority of these people, who claimed that they were coming into the state as hunters, were arrested around the black spots where we have robbery operations and kidnapping in the local governments where they were nabbed.
“They surprisingly and carefully concealed and kept their weapons, bags of Indian hemp, and cutlasses under their vehicles, and they claimed that they were coming from various parts of the country.
He added that the arrested suspects have been profiled, while some of them are still being questioned.
“The pertinent question we are asking them is, “Why are they hiding their guns?” If they are genuine hunters, why not come out openly? But one begins to wonder why they would come from the extreme parts of the country to hunt in a village in a forest they have never been to before in Ondo State?
“No doubt, as Nigerians, they have the right to go anywhere in the country, but they do not have the right to go with weapons.
“As hunters, we had expected that they would have made consultations to find out their limitations.
“In Ondo State Forestry Reserves, the government is very clear: if you are a hunter and want to go into the forest, you have to register so that the government, the kings, and the hunters will know that you are there.
“However, we want to appeal to commuters that if you have any reason to do your legitimate business in Ondo State, please consult the relevant agencies, and to our Baales, the Kabiyesis, and the good people of the state, we can no longer tolerate this kind of people without mission, entering our forest areas.”
