The Ondo State Police Command, on Monday, disagreed with the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria over the number of suspects arrested at Akure Airport on Sunday.
The command also disagreed over the suspects, claiming that they were not bandits but criminals.
The Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, confirmed in a statement on Sunday that four suspected bandits were arrested through a collaborative effort involving multiple security agencies.
She said, “We have alerted the CP, the Brig General of the army cantonment, the MAC, and their men are all involved in collaboration with AVSEC.
“The joint operation was successful as four suspects were apprehended, and they have been handed over to the police.”
However, the Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, during a ‘show of force’ exercise by joint security agencies, said two suspects were arrested in connection with the incident, contrary to FAAN’s claim of four.
Lawal clarified that the suspects were criminals, not bandits, and were not arrested on airport premises.
He stated, “Let me quickly debunk that issue of the arrest of four bandits. We don’t have bandits in Ondo State. We have criminals, not bandits.
“Two suspected logistics suppliers to all those criminals and kidnappers were arrested along the Eleyowo and Ilu Abo axis.
“The other one was arrested at Ilu-Abo, but that was not connected to the first two, and they are presently in police custody.
“So they were never arrested at the airport, contrary to the press statement made by the FAAN management staff. We carried out the operation. So they (FAAN) were not there. They were not arrested inside the airport.”
On the show of force exercise, Adebowale explained that the operation aimed to flush out criminals across the state.
All security agencies participated, including men of the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police, the Department of State Services, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Amotekun Corps.
The state Commander of Amotekun Corps, Adetunji Adeleye, said all security agencies were working in synergy to stamp out criminality, especially kidnapping, robbery, and other crimes.
He stated, “We are entering both the metropolis and the bushes this morning. We are doing bush combing and scrutinising the nooks and crannies of the state.
“It is going to be a continuous exercise, and we will go around everywhere to ensure the state remains safe as usual and that all forms of criminality are stamped out as much as possible.
“You can see the security men firmly on the ground. We want to go around on foot, on motorcycles, and in vehicles to all the nooks and crannies.
“After that, we will move into the forest to carry out phase two of the operation. We want to drive miscreants out of the forest and push kidnappers away from those areas.”
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