The Ondo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun, has arrested a scavenger, whose identity has not been revealed, for allegedly kidnapping an eight-year-old girl in Akure, the state capital.
The suspect allegedly hit the victim with a charm and put her in a sack but was arrested by the residents of the area while trying to escape.
The state Amotekun Commander , Adetunji Adeleye, while speaking on the incident on Friday, said the suspect pretended to be a scavenger to carry out the dastardly act.
The commander said the suspect would be charged to court after the completion of an investigation into the matter.
Adeleye said, “The suspect pretended to be a scavenger picking rubbles, but luckily, the grandmother of the child heard the cry of the girl and when they looked round, they saw somebody stepping away with the child inside a sack.
“So, when they raised the alarm, he attacked them with different objects including a burning firewood he picked from a woman cooking nearby, but they were able to quickly alert Amotekun operatives and he was arrested.
“Upon interrogation, we discovered that he is actually a kidnapper and he confessed that he has been in the trade for a while. Investigation continues on his case before we would finally hand him over to the court.
“We would like to know his sponsors, those who are his bosses, what he does with the previous ones he had successfully taken away before his arrest today.
“Luckily, the victim child is mentally okay and the grandmother, despite the degree of the injury she sustained from the firewood attack, is equally responding to treatment from our health facility. ”
Speaking, the father of the victim, simply identified as James, said the cry of the victim attracted his mother who raised the alarm.
He said, “My little daughter who is eight years old came out, that she wants to use the toilet and I asked her to go to the backyard to do that.Her incessant cries attracted my mother’s attention who went to the backyard and confirmed that a man whom we mistook for a scavenger had kidnapped and hidden her inside a sac bag.
“It was my mother’s shout for help that made me went to check what was really going on and when I got there he had hit my mother with a heavy wood on her chest while she was struggling to rescue my child from him.
“The kidnapper continued to attack whoever attempts to rescue my child but I held on to him, preventing him from escaping. It was a bike man who saw the scene, that went to alert Amotekun Corps who swiftly arrived the scene and arrested the suspected kidnapper.”
The security outfit also paraded no fewer than 29 suspects arrested for being involved in various criminal activities in the state on Monday.
Amotekun had last month arraigned a 72-year-old, Mohammadu Basiru, before a state magistrate’s court for kidnapping.
Mohammadu, who was a security man on a farm in an Owo community, and others still at large conspired to kidnap two persons including his boss. (Punch)