Ondo Amotekun rescues kidnap victim, arrests father, three sons

By Boye Oyeyemi

Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, have arrested a 56-year-old man and his three sons for allegedly operating a kidnapping syndicate in Oba-Akoko, Akoko South-West Local Government Area, rescuing their victim and recovering more than 75% of the ransom paid by his family.

This was disclosed by the State Commander of the corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, on Monday while parading 28 suspects arrested for various offences at the agency’s headquarters in Akure, saying the victim was abducted while travelling to Oba-Akoko and was held even after his family paid the demanded ransom.

According to Adeleye, the kidnappers warned the victim’s relatives against involving security agencies, but the family later contacted Amotekun, prompting an intelligence-led operation that traced the suspects to a family allegedly made up of a father and his three sons, who posed as cattle rearers while carrying out kidnapping activities.

He said the suspects attacked Amotekun operatives during the rescue operation but were overpowered, adding that the victim was rescued with multiple machete and knife injuries while officers recovered more than 75% of the ransom as well as drugs, alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and other items allegedly linked to the suspects.

Adeleye identified the suspects as Iliasu, 56; Usman, 33; Wahab, 27; and Yakubu, 18, adding that one of them had been on the corps’ watchlist since 2024 over alleged involvement in several kidnapping cases across the Ondo North Senatorial District before fleeing the state and recently returning.

The rescued victim, Oyebade Samuel, said he was attacked after his vehicle developed a mechanical fault along the Oba-Akoko Road, alleging that four armed men emerged from the bush, assaulted him with guns, cutlasses and sticks before dragging him into the forest.

Samuel said the kidnappers initially demanded N40 million but later reduced the ransom to N1.6 million, adding that despite receiving the money and other items requested from his family, they refused to release him until Amotekun operatives tracked them to the ransom collection point.

Adeleye reiterated that the corps discourages the payment of ransom to kidnappers and said the recovered money would be returned to the victim’s family, while assuring residents that Amotekun, in collaboration with other security agencies, would sustain its operations against kidnappers and other criminal elements across Ondo State.