OPERATIVES of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun Corps, have rescued two young Fulani herders abducted while grazing cattle in a forest along the Ondo-Edo boundary.
The victims were reportedly tending their cattle in a forest in Owo when they were kidnapped by suspected gunmen.
The Ondo State Commander of Amotekun, Adetunji Adeleye, said operatives, working with the victims’ families, tracked the kidnappers’ hideout deep inside the forest after their families had reported their disappearance.
According to him, the suspects fled after discovering that security operatives had uncovered their camp, abandoning the victims, who were rescued unharmed.
The rescue comes amid persistent concerns over kidnapping in Ondo and other South-West states, where criminal gangs have continued to exploit forests along interstate boundaries to abduct travellers, farmers and residents for ransom.
Established by the South-West states in 2020, the Amotekun Corps was created to complement the police and other security agencies in tackling kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes. In recent years, the outfit has stepped up forest patrols, dismantled suspected criminal camps and rescued several kidnap victims across the region.
The latest operation also comes against the backdrop of growing community-led security initiatives.
In July, Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, announced that operatives of his Iru Ekun Security Network, working alongside the Nigeria Police Force’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT), rescued an Oyo woman, Adijat Kubura Aliqlas, and her young son after they were abducted and taken into a forest in neighbouring Kwara State.
Following the operation, Igboho pledged to expand the activities of the Iru Ekun Security Network into Kwara State. He said the move was aimed at supporting efforts to combat kidnapping and other violent crimes in communities bordering the South-West and North-Central regions.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M