The Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, has prevented the payment of N150 million ransom demanded by suspected kidnappers.
The security agency rescued five kidnapped victims in two different locations across the state without paying the ransom.
They had demanded N100 million and N50 million, and the families were negotiating with different amounts before the intervention of the security agency.
The Commander of Amotekun Corps, Akogun Aderunji Adeleye, said four of the victims were kidnapped on their way from the farm along the Ore-Ijebu Ode-Lagos expressway.
The other victim, he said, was rescued by Amotekun officers after spending days in the forest with suspected kidnappers. He was rescued around Ifon forest five days after he was abducted at his Upemen residence on Owo-Ikare road.
Adeleye said the armed kidnappers had demanded over N150 million ransom from the victims’ families before Amotekun foiled the operations.
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The security Chief disclosed that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa-led Administration had given a directive on the need to flush out kidnappers and disabuse the ugly trend of paying ransom.
Adeleye, who said special Amotekun rangers had been deployed into the major forests and locations in the state to curb criminalities, announced that over twelve armed robbery and kidnapping cases had been combated by Amotekun officers along the Ore-Lagos road, particularly the Ondo-Ogun state boundary.
The Amotekun Commander appealed to the state’s people to always provide timely security information, to ensure proper enforcement of the anti-open grazing law against defaulting herdsmen.
Two of the victims, Mr Ayodele and Emmanuel Adeniran, expressed appreciation to Amotekun Corps for rescuing them from untimely death, as they confirmed that the kidnappers had threatened to kill them if ransom was not paid on time.
Adeniran said he trekked in the bush for five days before men of Amotekun came to his rescue in the Akoko axis of the state.
The Amotekun Commander, however, declined to comment on the arrested kidnappers, not to jeopardise the ongoing investigations by the corps.
