A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Akure has ordered the remand of five persons, in connection with kidnapping, r3pe of two women and other heinous crimes in the Akoko area of Ondo State, at Olokuta Correctional Facility.
The defendants who were nabbed by the men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, otherwise known as the Amotekun Corps, were subsequently arraigned on seven counts bothering on criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, r3pe, and illegal possession of firearms.
The suspects are; Saliu Usman, Yao Yisa, Abu Ali, Ibrahim Muhammed and Musa Abdukareem were accused of having committed the offences at different times, between July 9 and 13, 2025, at different locations in the Akoko South West Local Government area of the state.
The prosecuting counsel, O.F. Akeredolu, told the court that the defendant and other accomplices at large on July 13, 2025, at about 12:03a.m, at Oba Akoko farm, Ayegunle Axis while armed with offensive weapons, r3ped two women (names withheld) and dispossessed them of their belongings and money.
The defendants were alleged of stolen a sum of N225,000.00, two cell phones, an MP3, and ten litres of palm oil belonging to the victims.
Akeredolu also stated that the defendants were involved in the kidnapping of individuals from the area for ransom.
Due to the serious nature of the offenses, the court did not take the defendants’ pleas.
Akeredolu had earlier applied for the remand of the defendants in any correctional facility pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In response, the defendants’ counsel, G.O. Omoedu, filed a 15-paragraph counter-affidavit seeking bail for his clients, arguing that they were victims of circumstance and that there was no justification for their remand.
After reviewing the case file and the statements from both the defendants and victims, Magistrate Damilola Sekoni ordered the remand of the defendant at Olokuta Correctional Facility in Akure
He noted that the victims had identified three of the defendants as part of the seven-man gang that attacked them, establishing probable cause for their remand.
The magistrate ordered the case file to be duplicated and sent to the DPP for further advice and adjourned the case till September 18, 2025 for mention.
