The Ondo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps has vowed to arrest all perpetrators and sponsors of the June 5 terror attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Owo local government area.
It said some suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.
Commander of the Ondo Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, spoke while parading 71 suspects arrested for armed robbery, kidnappings, stealing cultism amongst others.
Adeleye said his men pursued the Owo church attackers on the day of the incident to a point where the vehicle was recovered.
According to him: “As regards the owo incident, we have recovered the last vehicle they used for that operation and we made some arrests and we have also recovered some vital things which we are working on.
“A number of people have been arrested concerning the Owo issue as well as well number of equipment recovered
“On that day, we pursued them to the point we recovered the vehicle and we are still pursing them. We have told you that until we get to the root, I can assure you that the perpetrators and their sponsors will be brought to book.
“In the last few weeks we have been under serious pressure of attack. In the same vein men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency have equally gone out after these criminals.
“We are parading 71 suspects. The suspects were arrested within the last one month for various offences ranging from armed robbery, cattle rustling, suspected kidnappers, rapists, fraudsters and human traffickers .
“The 71 suspects were picked while committing offences and others were tracked to their hideouts in forests.
“We have been able to get a cartel that specialises in stealing and dismantling motor bikes which we all know as Okada. Also we were able to recover over 50 bikes during the operation from these criminals.
“We also got reports from some herdsmen that their cattle were stolen. We went after them and brought the cows back to the Fulani herdsmen that own the cows.
“We have a group of small boys who are under 18 year old that turned themselves into a cartel of criminals in a particular local government in Ondo State and armed themselves. They actually belong to a cult group called ‘Agbado’. We were able to arrest 12 out of the 17 members.”
He added: “We have about three to four suspected kidnappers and we intend to take most of these suspects, especially the ones we have concluded their investigations to the DPP and for their onward prosecution in court.
“We want to assure the good people of Ondo State that we will not rest on our oars untill we get to the bottom of ridding the state of criminal elements. There is no hiding place for them. They turned the heat on us and we have also turned the heat on them.
“Recently, the number of these sad occurrence in the northern senatorial part of the state had been on the increase. We are intensifying all efforts to get to root of the mischievous and barbaric acts of these criminal elements
“So to the people in the northern senatorial district, especially in the bother towns in Akoko, we will continue with our operation clean up until when the very last of these criminals are driven out of these forest.”
▪︎ Report by The Nation