REBECCA AJANI
SUSPECTED killers of a first class monarch in Ondo State, Oba Israel Adeusi, the Olufon of Ifon, have been arrested by security operatives.
Though the exact number of suspects arrested in connection with the crime and their identities had not been disclosed, the arrest was made possible through the collaboration of a combined team of security operatives, it was learnt.
The operatives had combed the Elegbaka Forest in search of the criminals after the murder of Oba Adeusi.
Commander, Ondo Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Akure, said four kidnapped victims were rescued during the search for the killers of the monarch, noting that the arrested suspects were undergoing interrogation.
The killing of the monarch last Thursday, which preceded the slaughtering of 43 rice farmers in Borno State, had sparked fresh concerns about the worsening security situation in the country, The Point reports.
The late Olufon was said to have been returning from a meeting in Akure before running into the killer kidnappers along Elegbeka area.
Adeleye also disclosed that the Operation Clean Up, which was launched on Tuesday, had led to the arrest of over 20 suspects from some black spots in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
According to him, a surveillance team had been positioned on Chief Olu Falae’s farm to prevent further herdsmen attack on the farm.
He said, “In the past few weeks, Ondo State witnessed increase in kidnappings, armed robbery and men of the Amotekun Corps went into action in collaboration with other security agencies.
“We observed a downward trend after the ban of okada at night so we had to change tactics. That was why we launched the Operation Clean Up which is intense patrol across the nook and cranny of Akure and other parts of the state.”
He said the idea was to take the war to the kidnappers, criminals wherever they were hiding, noting that huge success had been recorded.
“Amotekun operates in the bush, forest, water and anywhere,” he added.
