The Ondo State Security Network Agency (also known as Amotekun Corps( has disclosed that it had prosecuted no fewer than 2,000 criminals in the last two years of its establishment in the state.
The state commander, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye said on Wednesday in Akure, the state capital, that the corps had secured judgements in over 1500 cases during the period under review.
He said: “In the last two years, we have prosecuted over 2,000 criminals and we have secured judgements in favour of the government for not less than 1,500 criminal charges.
“We built Amotekun court to support the judiciary when the turn out of criminals per day outweighed what the judiciary had facilities for. As we speak, there are many who have been prosecuted by Amotekun and the office of the Attorney-General of Ondo State”.
Adeleye said that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has approved the siting of the security posts along the waterline in the Arimogija axis in the Ose Local Government Area of the state and in the Akoko area,
He expressed assurance that the recurring breaches of security at Ose axis in Ose LG where there were incessant kidnapping incidents in recent times, would soon become a thing of the past.
The commander stated further, “We still have some challenges in the Ose axis. We have done several clearance operations there, and most of the time, the Amotekun corps is accompanied by the military and other security agencies, but in most cases, these criminal elements only wait for us to go, after which they will cross the river and return”.
He emphasised the need for the country to have state police as he noted that it was the solution to the criminal at the grassroots.
“The solution to the grassroots insecurity in Nigeria is state police, anything short of that, we will only continue to merry-go-round without making any specific progress in the security sector. The fact remains that it will be difficult for a policeman who is from Jigawa State to navigate the terrain here effectively when pursuing criminals but an indigene will be able to do that.
“The fact that we have the grassroots intelligence and network is an advantage that cannot be overlooked. Hence, state police are the panacea to bring to an end criminal activities around us”, Adeleye submitted.
