No fewer than 100 cows have been arrested by men of the Ondo State Security Agency, codenamed Amotekun, for violating the directives of the state government on open grazing and failure to register with the state government.
The cows were arrested along Akure /Ilesha road while blocking the highway and the herders controlling them took to their heels immediately sighting the men of the Amotekun corps.
Confirming the development, the State Commander of Amotekun, Mr Adetunji Adeleye, said the cows were intercepted and arrested at the boundary of Osun and Ondo states after the cows were used to block the highway.
According to him, the cows were blocking the highways when the security outfit received a distressed call from one of the travellers on the highway, saying his men responded immediately.
He said the cows were controlled to the headquarters of the Amotekun in Akure, which is about 30 kilometers from the point they were intercepted, while their owners disappeared into the bush.
He said: “Our men controlled the cows to the headquarters of our office, which was about 30 kilometres from the point they were intercepted.
“I don’t want to narrow it on the issue of capturing cattle. I would want to say it’s a way of reducing crime. These cows were actually blocking the major highway leading to the state capital.
“Apart from the possibility of illegal grazing in most cases, it is one of the ploys used by kidnappers. One of the occupants in the vehicle that was blocked called our distress line and within a few minutes, our men were on the ground.
”We should take note that our men are in all the 18 Local Government Areas and we are on 24 hours patrol. We arrived at the scene promptly.
”The culprits who sighted us on arrival ran away as they controlled the cows to follow them, but we were only able to control them back and took them to Akure.
Adeleye however, confirmed that the owners of the cows reported at the headquarters of the Amotekun in Akure with the owners of farms destroyed.
