Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency have arrested four suspected terrorists allegedly connected to a series of violent crimes carried out across Ondo State within the last eight months.
The State Commander of the security outfit, Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed the arrests while addressing journalists in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
According to Adeleye, the operation was intelligence-led and executed in collaboration with multiple security agencies operating within the state.
He explained that the suspects were members of a criminal gang allegedly involved in armed robbery, kidnapping, destruction of property, and other violent activities that contributed to insecurity across several communities in Ondo State.
The commander stated that the gang leader, who was reportedly receiving operational instructions from outside the state, was apprehended during what he described as a coordinated and intensive security operation.
Adeleye further disclosed that the logistics and supply network sustaining the group had also been dismantled during the operation, while additional members of the syndicate were arrested as security operatives intensified the crackdown.
Because of the sensitive nature of the investigation, he said the suspects had been handed over to the Department of State Services for further interrogation and possible prosecution.
According to him, the suspects had already confessed to participating in several criminal activities connected to the wave of insecurity experienced in the state in recent months.
“They confessed to having commenced the operation, and the result of their operation is the instability that the state witnessed in the last eight months,” Adeleye stated.
He, however, declined to reveal additional operational details, citing ongoing investigations by the DSS.
The commander explained that the arrests form part of broader efforts by security agencies to restore peace and dismantle criminal camps hidden within forest areas across the state.
He noted that Ondo State’s vast forest corridors, which spread across six local government areas and share boundaries with three neighbouring states, continue to create significant security challenges for law enforcement agencies.
Adeleye said a joint security operation involving the police, military, DSS, Amotekun, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has intensified forest clearance operations aimed at flushing out criminal elements from remote locations.
He also disclosed that security agencies have shifted focus from merely arresting suspects to ensuring effective prosecution.
According to him, case files involving approximately 142 suspects had been concluded and forwarded to competent courts within the last month.
The suspects, he said, are facing various charges including kidnapping, anti-grazing violations, communal clashes involving farmers and herders, as well as cult-related offences.
Adeleye added that 64 additional suspects are currently undergoing profiling and may either face prosecution or alternative dispute resolution processes depending on the outcome of ongoing investigations.
