Operatives of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, the Amotekun Corps, have announced the arrest of a truck loaded with armed herdsmen numbering about 80, heading into Ibadan, the state capital.
The Commandant of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (rtd), who confirmed the interception of the truck on Monday, said the Corps sighted the truck along the Iwo Road area of Ibadan, and on intercepting it, several dangerous weapons including bows, arrows, daggers, cows and 25 motorcycles were discovered hidden inside.
Olayanju added that upon interrogation, the men said they were heading for Lagos and Ogun States.
The search was said to have attracted residents who trooped to the scene but in a bid to avoid a crisis, the security agents led the truck and its occupants to the police station at Testing Ground area in Iwo Road, where they were handed over to the police for further investigations.
We arrested about 80 men in a truck. We found some bows and arrows and knifes in the truck. They also had some cows and motorcycles there.
“We couldn’t carry out a thorough search because we had started attracting attention, so we moved them to the police station nearby,” Olayanju said.
Also confirming the arrest of the armed herdsmen, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olugbenga Fadeyi, said though the police received the suspects, there was nothing incriminating found on them and were later released:
Some people were intercepted and they were taken to Agodi Police Station where they were profiled. They said they were coming from Wudil in Kano and were going to Lagos and some to Ogun State. They said they were taking the cows to the abattoir in Agege, Lagos.
“We didn’t find anything incriminating on them. They were released and escorted to the Toll Gate area on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. They are no longer in Oyo State territory.”
