Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency have arrested four suspected terrorists allegedly connected to a series of violent crimes across Ondo State over the past eight months.
The State Commander of the corps, Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed the arrests while briefing journalists in Akure, noting that the operation was intelligence-led and carried out in collaboration with other security agencies.
According to him, the suspects were part of a gang allegedly involved in armed robbery, kidnapping, and destruction of property in different parts of the state.
Adeleye said the group’s leader, who was reportedly receiving instructions from outside the state, was captured during what he described as a coordinated and intensive operation.
He added that the gang’s logistics and supply chain had also been dismantled, with additional members of the syndicate picked up during the crackdown.
Because of the sensitivity of the case, he said the suspects had been handed over to the Department of State Services, DSS, for further interrogation and possible prosecution.
Adeleye confirmed that the four suspects had confessed to involvement in several criminal activities linked to insecurity experienced in Ondo State in recent months.
“They confessed to having commenced the operation, and the result of their operation is the instability that the state witnessed in the last eight months,” he said.
He, however, declined to provide further operational details, citing ongoing investigations by the DSS.
The commander said the arrests form part of sustained efforts to restore peace and dismantle criminal hideouts in forest areas across the state.
He noted that Ondo State’s extensive forest belts, which span six local government areas and border three neighbouring states, have continued to pose significant security challenges.
Adeleye explained that a joint security operation involving the police, military, DSS, Amotekun, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, have intensified clearance operations aimed at flushing out criminal elements from forested areas.
He also revealed a shift in strategy from mere arrests to prosecution, stating that within the last month, case files involving about 142 suspects had been completed and forwarded to competent courts.
According to him, the suspects are facing charges including kidnapping, anti-grazing offences, communal clashes between farmers and herders, and cult-related crimes.
He added that 64 additional suspects are currently undergoing profiling and will either be prosecuted or subjected to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, depending on the outcome of investigations.
Amotekun arrests four suspected terrorists in Ondo