Tension as Amotekun deports 42 Northerners from Yorubaland

The Western security outfit, Amotekun, in Ondo State, has deported over 42 Northerners to Kano and Jigawa States, respectively.

It was gathered that eviction followed alarm raised by residents, which drew the attention of the Amotekun corps, the presence of the men who said they were in the state for security training which generated tension in the community.

The 42 alleged invaders who were recently arrested at Okitipupa, the headquarters of the state’s Okitipupa Local Government Area, by men from the Ondo State Security Network, Amotekun, were deported after they were unable to justify their mission in the state, according to the state Commander of Amotekun in the state, Chief Adetunji Adeleye.

According to him, the alleged invaders from Kano and Jigawa states reported that an agent invited them to the state and hired them as security guards to track and direct pipelines in the state.

“There have been issues related to the invasion of the state by suspected Fulani men in the last three days,” Adeleye said.

Our information revealed an influx of people, especially in the state’s Okitipupa Local Government Area. So we kept an eye on them and discovered that they had gathered in front of the army barracks in Okitipupa.

“They were there for a couple of hours, and we tried to figure out what their mission was at that stage, but they couldn’t give us satisfactory answers, so we moved them to our local office in Okitipupa to try to debrief them, and from there, we had to move them to the state headquarters for proper debriefing.

“When they arrived, we profiled them and discovered that the majority of them were from Kano and Jigawa states. The mission they claimed to have come for was unclear, and through further investigation, we discovered that the majority of them had no idea how they got to where they were.

“All they knew was that they were going to get some experience. They have no idea who, by whom, or for what they are being trained. “From the thorough investigation, we were able to narrow it down to their sponsors,”Adeleye said of the youths’ sponsors.

“The sponsors also claimed to be members of an NGO, and that the training was contracted out to a contractor who was supposed to train their men. They said they would train them to be security guards.

“However, as part of our covert investigation, we discovered that the so-called consultant had been apprehended in Delta State, and I checked with the Delta State Police Command that he was still in their custody as of today. So, we hope to release them, all of them, and ensure that they are returned to their respective states.”

He clarified that they agreed to release them because“right now, we see them as a security risk to the state,” and that “at this stage, we invited the sponsors, the head of the NGO, and the chairman of the board of directors have also given an explanation.”

“However, we believe it is important to inform the people of Ondo State that there is no crisis in the Okitipupa Local Government Area. It was not as if any hoodlums or terrorists had taken over as was depicted.

“We want to reassure the good people of Ondo State that we are on the ground and working with other security agencies to ensure that there is no problem. People should go about their daily routines as normal.

“We are not leaving any stone unturned, and we have made certain that our intelligence unit has covered the entire state, and we will notify the public if something goes wrong. We expect to provide escort to transport them out of Ondo State and back to their origins.”

Meanwhile, the state government has urged residents of the state not to take the law into their own hands and to report any unusual activity in their neighborhood.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, spoke on behalf of the state government and praised the Amotekun corps for handling the situation professionally.