By Tola Gbadamosi
Ondo state security network also known as Amotekun Corps on Monday paraded 29 suspected criminals for various crimes.
A 23-year-old young lady, Odey Regina Olayemi, who was recently kidnapped and released after seven days, narrated her ordeal while in her abductors’ den.
Olayemi was kidnapped at their farm located at Ago-Oyinbo village in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo state by three armed men.
The victim, while describing the horrific incident revealed that the sum of N350,000 was paid for her ransom and spent seven days in the kidnappers’ den.
Speaking with journalists at the Amotekun Corps headquarters in Akure, Olayemi said; “My mum and dad were in the town, I went to the village to help my sisters before our resumption in order to get money to take to school.
“On that faithful day, we were at the farm and suddenly we saw three kidnappers coming towards where we are. I told my sisters that these Fulani people are coming towards us and I’m going to run but they said I should not go anywhere that they are not going to do anything for us.
“When they got to us, they asked us to kneel down. Two of them were with guns, while the third person was with cutlass. They later asked me to stand up and told me to follow them. They took cassava stick and started beating me as we were going.
“I spent 7 days with them, they asked for my dad’s number but I told them that I did not know it off hand because I have already lost my memory. I later told them I don’t have parents again, that they have died, that I just came to the village to help my sisters so that I will get money to take care of myself when I get back to the school.
“But they said it was a lie, that they know everything about my family and I later gave them my number because I was not with my phone that day. Immediately I gave them my number, they started calling the phone but nobody picked it. Later one of my sisters that came from Akure to our village picked the call and they informed her that they have kidnapped me.
“She went to Amotekun office to report and they swung into action in order to rescue me and I thank God that they rescued me.”
The Amotekun Corps Commander, Adetunji Adeleye, who also spoke on how the Corps rescued the young lady said about 29 people have been arrested for allegedly involved in various criminal activities in the state in recent times.
“The resurgence of kidnapping within the state made us go deep into forests to fish out and smoke out these kidnappers. We have a total number of 29 criminals. About 20 of them are suspected kidnappers. A step further, we also invited all those that come to complained that they were kidnapped in the last three to four months in the state and they were able to identify majority of them.
“As a matter of fact, we have to cross the river before we were able to arrest them, and we were equally attacked by majority of them. We find out that these criminals lives in our forests along Ala-Dada, Jugbere, up to Ijagba and we were able to comb the forests.
“Some of these criminals engaged in feedings victims, charging their phones, and a lot of other things that they do. And this is to send a strong signal that even crossing the water will not deter Amotekun from fishing these criminals out of Ondo state. The only solution is for all these criminals and kidnappers to pack and leave Ondo state.
“The signal we are sending to the public is that we will continue to rely on your cooperation and will also strive to ensure that Ondo state remains.”
