Amotekun was set up to tame the activities of bandits who are heading South with their crimes
The Western Nigeria Security Network said it has intercepted 18 passengers heading to Ondo from the North with knives and guns hidden inside their luggage.
The seizure came a few days after military checkpoints in the state were deserted by soldiers because their allowances were not being paid by the state government.
According to Sahara Reporters, Amotekun operatives took over the checkpoints left by the military, and in the process, found a bus loaded with 500 pieces of daggers concealed under seats and in the luggage of 18 passengers.
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The report says the Amotekun operatives also recovered different seizes of knives and guns hidden inside Tigernut bags.
Also, 18 passengers of the bus were arrested by the Amotekun, while some others escaped.
Parading the suspects before journalists in Akure, the state Commander of Amotekun Corps, Adetunji Adeleye, said the three buses successfully evaded different checkpoints before luck ran out on them in Ondo town.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu commended the Amotekun Corps operatives for filling the vacuum left by the military men who protested the nonpayment of their allowances.
Army personnel had abandoned checkpoints in the state after being owed allowances by the state government.
In a statement on Thursday on his Facebook page, the governor said: “Amotekun Corps is now engaging in road patrol to further ensure the security of lives and property of all residents across the state.”
About Amotekun
Amotekun is a Yoruba word that means “One that looks like a leopard,” leopard being translated to “ekun.” Because of this, Amotekun properly means cheetah, but as in this case, it is often mistransliterated to leopard.
Operation Amotekun was established on 9 January 2020 by the six-state governors of all the South Western states of Nigeria, namely; Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondom Osun and Ekiti States. The establishment of the security outfit was subject to the decision by all the six state governors at the regional security summit held in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria in June 2019 through Development Agenda for Western Region Commission (DAWN).
In support of the outfit, all the six state governors contributed 20 vehicles each, except Oyo that contributed 33 vehicles, in order to assist the operatives in carrying out their duties, making a total of 133 vehicles for the startup, they also procured 100 units of motorcycles each, making a total of 600 motorcycles. The members of the outfit were drawn from local hunters,the O’odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Agbekoya, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and vigilante group
