The Amotekun Corps, also known as the Ondo State Security Network Agency, has apprehended 28 individuals for their alleged involvement in various crimes across the state. Among the suspects were two secondary school students who were arrested for fabricating their own kidnapping and demanding ransom from their mother.
During a press conference at the command headquarters in Akure, the state Commander, Adetunji Adeleye, revealed that the two female pupils, aged 13 and 15, were in Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1 and JSS3, respectively. The incident took place in Oka-Akoko, Akoko South-West Local Government Area of the state, where the girls had hidden. They contacted their mother while pretending to be kidnappers who had abducted them and demanded a ransom of N100,000.
Commander Adeleye further explained that the girls also posed as kidnappers and threatened the local monarch, stating that if the ransom was not paid within 24 hours, they would harm the victims they claimed to have in their custody.
He stated, “The 28 suspects we are presenting today demonstrate that kidnapping is a prominent criminal activity in Ondo State. This is part of our ongoing efforts to eradicate kidnapping in the state. We have cases where individuals fake their own abductions and raise false alarms, but through our thorough investigations, we were able to uncover the truth surrounding their disappearance, and they have now confessed.”
The arrest of the suspects was made possible through a collaborative effort between the Amotekun Corps and the Department of State Services. The telephone line used by the girls was tracked, leading to the discovery of their hiding location.
During their interrogation, one of the girls admitted her involvement in the crime and claimed that her elder sister had enticed her into participating. The 13-year-old girl stated, “On that day, my sister and I spent the night at our grandmother’s place and left around 6 am the following day. While we were on our way back home, my sister informed me of her plan to get money from our mother. She suggested that we stage our own kidnapping and demand a ransom of N50,000 each. My sister coached me on what to say when she called our mother. We were unaware that it was the monarch who spoke to us on the phone, and we threatened to harm the victims in our captivity if the ransom was not paid promptly.”
The Amotekun Corps in Ondo State apprehended 28 individuals, including two schoolgirls, for various crimes. The girls were accused of faking their own kidnapping and extorting money from their mother by demanding ransom. The suspects were tracked down with the assistance of the Department of State Services, and one of the girls admitted her involvement, stating that her elder sister had influenced her to participate in the crime.
