Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, have rescued two young herders who were abducted by suspected kidnappers in a forest along the Ondo–Edo boundary.
The victims, identified as Abubakar Umaru and Adulahi Umaru, were reportedly tending cattle in the Owo axis when they were seized by their abductors and taken deep into the forest.
According to the Ondo State Commander of Amotekun, Adetunji Adeleye, the operation was launched after the children’s parents reported that they had failed to return home with their cattle.
Adeleye, while briefing journalists on the rescue, said the case was singled out because of its unique nature among the numerous rescue missions carried out by the corps.
“The briefing today is unique, unique in the sense that out of the hundreds of rescued victims, we singled out this particular situation where two Headers boys were kidnapped and their cattle rescued in our local government. We moved into action because they reported that the children that went out did not come back on time.”
He explained that the operatives first recovered the missing cows before intensifying efforts to locate the boys.
“First, we were able to retrieve all the cows. Then we went after looking for the children, the two boys that went out with the cows. When it became apparent that the boys had been kidnapped, we went deep into the forest, linking Ondo to Edo into an area called Abuja Forest between Ondo and Edo in our local government.”
The Amotekun commander disclosed that the search team eventually traced the abductors’ hideout and successfully rescued the victims. He noted that the kidnappers fled upon discovering that security operatives had surrounded the area.
“At the end of the day, we were able to locate the boys. The abductors, having found out that we had circled where they were, all ran away. We couldn’t confront them because we didn’t want to lose focus on our primary assignment of rescuing the boys alive.”
Adeleye commended residents for providing timely intelligence that aided the operation and reiterated the agency’s commitment to protecting all residents regardless of ethnicity.
“Now that we’ve gotten the boys and the cows, and after debriefing the boys, I want to thank the people for giving us timely information.”
“Ondo State Security Network Agency does not discriminate. A criminal from Yoruba, from Igbo, from Hausa, or from Fulani is a criminal. We treat them as such.”
Speaking after their rescue, the victims, Abubakar Umaru and Adulahi Umaru, recounted their ordeal, stating that the suspected kidnappers forcefully took them away from the cattle they were rearing and marched them into a distant forest.
They said the abductors threatened them with knives throughout the period of captivity before they were eventually rescued by Amotekun operatives unharmed.
The successful operation adds to ongoing efforts by the Ondo State Amotekun Corps to combat kidnapping and other criminal activities across the state.