
Security operatives from the Ondo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as Amotekun, have rescued five individuals who were recently abducted in different parts of the state.
The victims were freed without the payment of the N150 million ransom earlier demanded by their abductors. Commander of Amotekun in the state, Adetunji Adeleye, confirmed the rescue operation, noting that four of the victims were taken along the Ore-Ijebu Ode/Lagos expressway.
He added that another victim, who was kidnapped from his residence in the Upemen area along the Owo-Ikare road, was rescued from the Ifon forest five days later.
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Adeleye explained that the kidnappers had contacted the families of the victims and demanded ransom before Amotekun operatives swooped in and successfully disrupted the operation. He said personnel have now been deployed to all major forests and strategic locations in the state to stem the tide of insecurity.
According to the commander, Amotekun has so far foiled over a dozen kidnapping and armed robbery incidents, particularly around the Ondo-Ogun state boundary.
One of the rescued victims, Ayo Adeyeye, recounted his terrifying ordeal in captivity. “They threatened to kill us if the ransom was not paid,” he said. “I was heading home when they intercepted us. My brother managed to escape, but they grabbed me and forced me to walk with them all through the night until morning.”
A Nigerian national, Bolaji Bolarinwa, has been sentenced to 45 months in prison in the United States for forced labor and related offenses involving two victims she coerced into working in her home.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the sentence was delivered following a joint effort by Attorney Alina Habba and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.