The Ondo State Security Network Agency (popularly known as Operation Amotekun) has reacted to reports that a farmer and a vigilante operative were murdered by herdsmen at Jugbere Farm Settlement in Owo on Thursday February 11.
While confirming that four persons were apprehended in connection to the incidents, Director-General of the Amotekun Corps, Adetunji Adeleye stated that the deceased were killed by illegal miners and not herdsmen.
The Corps Commander also denied that any of his men was killed in a crossfire with the hoodlums, and further added that no crossfire had occurred between the herders and the Corps’ operatives to necessitate the loss of lives as being speculated.
He said;
“On the issue of arrest, we arrested a number of suspects that are directly connected from the preliminary investigations with either kidnapping, illegal mining, armed robbery in the farmland and farm destruction.
“We are working on that and in the appropriate time, they will be handed over to the relevant security agencies for further investigations and prosecution where necessary.
“In one of the operations that we are involved in, it’s alleged that so many members of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps were killed.
“I want to say that not a single soul out of the ones I recruited died at any point in time. And specifically on the Owo Ute incident, no single member of the corps or officer died during this particular operation.
“There was actually no crossfire between the herdsmen and Amotekun Corps.
“So, the area where the crisis actually happened was predominantly occupied by the workers of this dastardly act. What I mean by that is some of them are either working as kidnappers or working as illegal miners. A good number of them also had their cattle destroying the farm settlement and the farm around.
“In the cause of the quarrel, they went to a nearby village and even set it ablaze and our vehicle happened to be parked around that same village which they set ablaze.”
