Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as Amotekun Corps have arrested no fewer than 149 suspected criminals.
The suspects who were believed to be coming largely from the North geopolitical zone of the country were intercepted by the Amotekun Corps when the trucks conveying them and goods arrived Ondo.
The suspects who were arrested at three local government areas of the state took along with them different weapons which were concealed inside their luggage kept in the trucks and they claimed to be hunters.
The state Commander of the corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, told reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Tuesday that the suspects were apprehended at some black spots in the local government areas where they were caught.
He urged the strangers to always consult with relevant agencies or traditional rulers of communities if they have any reason to do legitimate business in Ondo State, declaring that the government would no longer tolerate people without mission, entering into the forest areas of the state.
He said, “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. A 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 hemps and cutlasses under their vehicles and they claimed that they were coming from the various parts of the country. The 149 suspects have been profiled, while some of them are still being questioned. The pertinent questions 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 to 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 the Ondo State Forestry Reserves, the government is very clear that if you are a hunter and wants to go into the forest, you have to register, so that government, the kings and the hunters will know that you are there.
“We have very strong reasons to believe that they are the people that turn to kidnappers, armed robbers at night and commit various crimes, especially in the bad portions of the roads and in the forest reserves of the state.”
