On Monday, the Osun commander of Amotekun Corps, Bashir Adewinmbi, said that an ex-convict had been arrested while allegedly attempting to kidnap an 8-year-old girl.

Mr Adewinmbi said in a statement that the suspect, a resident of Lawole Compound in Iresi town, was arrested on Saturday at about 2:30 p.m. after he was discovered by residents while trying to drag the girl away.

“The suspect tried to lure the girl with N50, who was sent on an errand by her mother, but later forcefully grabbed her and tried to take her away when the girl refused to collect the money from him,” the Amotekun commander stated. “It was at the point of trying to drag the girl away that the girl raised the alarm, attracting residents to what he was doing.”

Mr Adewinmbi added, “Residents later chased after him, arrested him, and called in Amotekun officers from Olorunda local government to take him away. During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime and added that he planned to use the girl for a money ritual if he succeeded.” 

According to him, the suspect, upon interrogation, allegedly said that had the girl collected the N50, “she would have disappeared and reappeared at his herbalist’s place in Ejigbo, where the ritual is expected to take place.”

Mr Adewinmbi also mentioned that the suspect said he had been convicted before for robbery but now works as a block moulder.

The commander, who said the suspect had been handed over to the police for further investigation, admonished parents to monitor the movement of their underage children and not allow them to wander around without supervision.

(NAN)