Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed “Amotekun Corps”, have confirmed the arrested of some people suspected to have carried out the attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
The Commander of Amotekun corps in the state, Adetunji Adeleye, said while some arrests had been made, they are still on the trail of other perpetrators.
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Working in collaboration with other security agencies, Adeleye confirmed that they had recovered some weapons and the getaway vehicle used by the terrorists before they entered the bush.
“A number of people have been arrested concerning the Owo issue. On that day, we pursued them to the point we recovered the vehicle and we are still pursuing them,” he stated.
The Amotekun boss, who also paraded 71 other criminal suspects in Akure, the state capital, for various offences ranging from armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, and cattle rustling to human trafficking, did not give the number of those arrested in connection with the Owo incident.
He gave the assurance that the perpetrators and their sponsors would be apprehended and brought to book soon.
He explained that some of the other suspects that were paraded were arrested within the last one month, some at the scene of the crime while others were trailed to their hideout.
Adeleye, who assured that the citizens that the state would no longer be a safe haven for criminals, stated that at the conclusion of the investigations, the public would be briefed.
According to him, items recovered from the suspects include locally made shotguns, knives and 17 motorcycles.
He appealed to the people of the state, especially those at border towns of Akoko, Owo-Ose axis, to remain calm and support the security men to clean the forests of criminals.
“We want to assure the good people of Ondo State that we will not rest on our oars until 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,” Adeleye stated.
“We are intensifying all efforts to get to the 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 forests.”
