As part of efforts to check criminal activities on the highways in Ondo State ahead of Yuletide season, the Ondo State Security Network, Amotekun, said it would commence a joint patrol in conjunction with other security agencies in the state on November 1.
The Commander of the Amotekun in the state, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed this in Akure, the state capital, said the 24-hour surveillance would be in place throughout the festive season.
He assured the Amotekun and other security agencies that they would comb all the dark spots in the state to arrest criminals operating in all the nooks and crannies of the state as the yuletide approaches.
According to him, men of the Amotekun in the state have arrested 33 suspected criminals across the state for various offences adding that said they would all be charged to court immediately after investigation.
Adeleye said: “The festive period is around the corner, so we want to use this opportunity to reassure members of the public that the state Amotekun Corps remains resolute in ensuring that the festive period goes without security breaches in the state.
“We have a cross-section of suspected criminals that have been terrorising different areas of the state.
“For the parade today, we have 33 suspected criminals, and their activities range from kidnapping, house breaking, stealing motorcycles, and trading in human beings, amongst others.
“We want to place it on record that all the security agencies in the state are already collaborating to ensure that the Yuletide period is crime-free.
“And as part of the package, by November 1, we will be launching the annual ember patrol, which will entail 24 hours of patrol daily in Akure and all local government headquarters in the state.
“It will also involve the inter-state border patrol with the cooperation of the public, as we reassure the public that we will work round the clock to ensure that our slogan of zero tolerance to crime is matched with action.
“These 33 suspected criminals were picked up at various local government areas of the state. For some of them, we have concluded their investigations, and they will be prosecuted, while we will make sure that the remaining suspects follow the due process of the law.
“We have six suspected kidnappers, and we even have some of their victims here. We also have about five people who specialise in stealing motorcycles; they will pretend to be passengers and hit the Okada rider from the back.
“We have another set of people that specialise in vandalising critical government assets, especially high-tension lines and transformers. They were picked up in Okitipupa, and we were able to retrieve most of the things they stole.
“We have a group of people here that specialise in breaking shops, and they have a warehouse where they keep what they stole, and we have been able to return what they stole to the owners while they will face normal prosecution.
“We have been collaborating with the relevant agencies through our neighbouring states to flush out all these criminals from our state. So we are assuring the residents of the Ose Local Government area of the state that our efforts will give them peace during this yuletide period.”
