By NewsBits
Following the rising spate of kidnappings in Nigeria’s southwest region, particularly along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway corridor, the police and the Amotekun Corps have announced major operations to flush out kidnappers and other criminals from forests and other strategic locations in the region.
Recently, there have been a number of kidnappings and attacks on the busy highway that connects Oyo and Ogun states with Lagos in recent weeks, with the most recent incidents occurring on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, assailants sprang out of the undergrowth and ambushed travelers, robbing them of their goods as they retreated back into the forest.
An 18-passenger bus headed for Lagos was attacked earlier on Tuesday near the Sagamu junction. Different passengers were hurt in different ways by the tragedy.
A former deputy vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Adigun Agbaje and a student from the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic in Abeokuta, Ogun State, were among the travelers who had been kidnapped about a week earlier close to the Sat Guru Maharaji Garden in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. They were not freed until their family members paid the kidnappers’ ransom.
In response to the rising number of attacks, various security organizations stated that they were working to address regional insecurity. They vowed to leave no stone unturned in their efforts to rid the South-West of criminality.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti State, Sunday Abutu said law enforcement agents had been combing the forests for criminals over the last two weeks.
“Policemen have been combing the forests in the state for over two weeks now,” he said. It is ongoing and will continue in order to prevent criminal elements from infiltrating the state or our forests.
“As I speak with you, our men are combing the forests and ensuring that the criminal elements are possibly arrested or chased out of the state. We have made some breakthroughs.”
The PPRO noted that no fewer than 10 suspects were arrested by the police during the exercise, addsing, “Some suspected kidnappers and criminals have been arrested and investigations are ongoing. No fewer than 10 suspects have been arrested,” the Punch quoted the Police PRO in a report on Saturday.
Similarly, the state’s Amotekun Commandant, Joe Komolafe stated that officers and members of the corps were conducting regular patrols of the forests as well as carrying out special operations to remove criminal elements.
He said, “We go on regular patrols. At times, we go with other security agencies and sometimes we go alone. We will be proactive and not reactive. We are also collaborating with the locals, hunters, traditional rulers and other vigilance groups, because they may see these people before we see them. We have friends and colleagues among them, so collaborating with them will give us early warning.
“What we are trying to do is to reduce criminality to the barest minimum. Don’t forget that there is no fence that separates forests in Ekiti State from those in the neighbouring states. We are also patrolling the forests to ensure they do not come back and see to it that others do not infiltrate through the boundaries.”
