The Commandant of the Corps in the state, David Akinremi, disclosed that the Corps got intelligence that Chigozie, a 30-year-old, had sold his nine-month-old son, Daniel Chinonye Darlington, to three different buyers at different locations in Sango, Meiran and Apapa area of Lagos.

He was said to have sold the baby for N150,000, N400,000 and N700,000 respectively to unknown buyers between August 2022 and February 2023.

Chigozie, who resides at Abela, Sango-Ota, in the Ado-Odo Local Government Area of the state confessed to the crime.

“The suspect in his statement confessed to the crime and he is being processed to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for a follow-up investigation to recover the child and prosecution,” Akinremi said.

Akinremi added that findings by the corps revealed Chigozie had devised a means through which the son was retrieved from each of the buyers after each sale until he sold him to the last buyer, identified as Dr. Nosa, in Apapa.

Shittu did not give any specific reason for his resignation in a letter addressed to the Secretary to the State Government dated 20th January 2023, a copy of which was obtained in Osogbo on Friday.

Appointed by the administration of the immediate past governor of Osun, Adegboyega Oyetola, Shittu, however, stated in his letter that while in office, he struggled with “operational challenges thrown up by the enemy within the top hierarchy of the Corp due to military intrigues, vainglory, and egoism.”

The letter partly further read, “As a man of conscience and the eternal grace of Almighty Allah, I give thanks to God for giving me the strength to carry the responsibility of the agency from day one of my appointment as pioneer Director General and the first head of Amotekun in Osun State.

“I will forever be grateful to Governor Gboyega Oyetola, the immediate past Executive Governor of Osun State, for the confidence reposed in me and the unrestricted opportunity to contribute my quota to the security development of Osun State.”

The Corps spokesperson in the state, Idowu Yusuf, confirmed Shittu’s resignation but refrained from making further comment on the development.

He said in the last six weeks that members of the security outfit moved to the road, no kidnap case has been recorded on the road.

He added that the suspected abductors of a former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof Adigun Agbaje, and others had been arrested and their weapons recovered.

Olayanju spoke in an interview with journalists in Offa, Kwara State on the sidelines a colloquium tagged “Emerging trends and insecurity in our communities: Challenges and solutions “organised by Galaxy Clique, Offa. He said, “Both Oyo and Ogun State governments have moved together and had joint security teams. In the last six weeks, we have been on that road. I can tell you that no single incident has happened on the road.

“I can also tell you that the kidnappers of Prof Agbaje and others have been mopped-up. We have been able to arrest all the people involved. The first thing we did was to mop up their weapons -they were about five in number. We did that through the intelligence that the people gave us.

“The police were able to follow up using technology to arrest every member of that group. Since then, there has been no incident of kidnapping along that axis.”

In his presentation at the lecture, a former Director, National Military Strategy, National Defence College, Abuja, Air Vice Marshal Ishaq Balogun (retd.), called on state governors to give adequate support and assistance to security agencies to tackle “worrisome” security challenges.

He said, “If all the security outfits were supported to do what they are supposed to do, we wouldn’t have reached this level. “The military forces owe governors military assistance to constituted authorities and military assistance to civil authorities.

“With this, I wonder why some state governors will feel that they can’t issue directives to the chief command of military or police in emergencies.”

It was gathered that the vehicle was conveying over 100 youths packed in the truck which reportedly took off from Zamfara State.

Our correspondent further learnt that the truck, which was heading to Ogere in Ogun State was stopped at around University of Ibadan-Bodija Road at about 4pm on Tuesday.

Some of the occupants of the truck were said to have jumped off and fled immediately they sighted the security men.

The interception reportedly caused panic among the people in the area, who believed that those arrested are terrorists or bandits.

In his remarks, the Commandant of Amotekun in Oyo State, Col. Olayinka Adeyanju (retd.), said those arrested could not be described as terrorists or criminals yet.

He said, “We did not arrest Boko Haram members or criminals. Those we arrested are here. Policemen are here, DSS operatives are here and the NSCDC men are also here.

They are profiling them as I talk to you. We saw them in a truck and moving such huge number of people is suspicious and that was why we stopped them and brought them here.

“We arrested them and we invited other security agencies to come and profile them.

“With that, they will know if there is any of those who escaped from jail among them. They will find out their mission and where they are going to. They will be released if they are found to be  law-abiding citizens.”

Komolafe, who assured of hitch-free Sallah celebrations in the state, said the security agencies and the vigilante groups in the state were collaborating to ensure that the state was safe.

We will engage in stop and search of some suspicious people and movements. We are not going to do it alone, we are collaborating with other security agencies in the state including the vigilante groups,” he said.

Although Komolafe declined comment on other security measures in place, saying such was not for public consumption, he harped on the need for alertness and security consciousness on the part of the residents.

The Amotekun commander said, “People should have the phone numbers of security agencies in their vicinity, not only those of Amotekun Corps, so that in case they notice suspicious actions or faces, they can quickly call and we will network to put the situation under control”.

The Amotekun commander said in a statement, “The Muslim faithful and indeed their friends and relations should go about their normal celebrations. There is no cause for fear of anything. Our operatives have intensified patrol of the highways to ensure that the roads are safe.

“Nobody should entertain fear, we will be on the highways and patrol the Eid grounds to see that we are close to the places and after the exercise, everybody can go home and enjoy the celebration. We are networking, we are having 24 hours patrol to ensure that Ekiti is safe.

This is as he noted that Amotekun Corps is a product of circumstance which is essentially created to fill the obvious security gap in the state for the security of all, adding that it has brought relative peace to the state.

According to a statement on his Facebook page, Akeredolu said this when he played host to the participants of Course 30 of the National Defence College, Abuja, led by the Commandant, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji at the Cocoa Conference Hall of the Governor’s office.

The statement said Akeredolu who particularly commended the military for ensuring peace and security in the country, equally disclosed that his administration has enjoined necessary support and cooperation from all heads of security agencies in the state including the Army, Police, NSCDC, DSS, NIA and others.

“So, we must make sure we tackle it. You kidnap to the extent that you killed a first class monarch; this is very bad. As a government, we owe it a duty to secure the lives and property of our people,” he emphasised.

According to the statement, “The Governor insisted that no genuine herders would graze his herds of cow with AK-47, just as he said any herder who destroys any farmland in the state would be made to pay compensation to the affected farmer. He also added that Amotekun Corps is now engaging in road patrol to further ensure the security of lives and property of all residents across the state. “Governor Akeredolu also said many states in the country have signed Anti-Open Grazing laws to protect the people and their means of livelihood, just as he insisted that the issue of grazing routes would not work in the country because the country can no longer continue to live in the past. He stressed that the country needed a multi-levelled policing with special attention to state police to effectively secure the lives and property of the citizens. Earlier, the Commandant, National Defence College, Abuja, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, who lauded the Governor for his security and industrial strides recorded so far, expressed confidence that the products of the participants’ research would go a long way to assist in policy inputs towards delivery of good governance and ensure security of the state.He particularly applauded the Governor for the way he handled the issue of farmers/herders clashes in the state to ensure peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders

The suspects were arrested along Arakale road in the heart of Akure, the Ondo state capital this week.

The Amotekun Corps said that they constituted a security threat following the suspicious manner in which they were moving.

Parading the wanderers at the headquarters of the corps in Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital, the Commander, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed that the suspects were first sighted along the Ilesa-Akure expressway.

The Commander maintained that they hid inside a trailer load of beans.

He said “Our men while on duty saw a suspected vehicle with a load of beans and then trailed the vehicle to Akure. They stopped along Arakale road. While searching the vehicle, we realised they were not carrying only beans but 18 young men,”

Adeleye stated that the men failed to provide genuine answers as regards their destination and mission in the state. While stating that the suspects would be handed over to the Head of Hausa community in the state to take them back to their various destinations, Adeleye said that they could constitute nuisance in the state if they were not intercepted.

He added that 30 others who were said to have arrived ahead of them would soon be apprehended as he disclosed that the corps had launched a search for them.