***Amotekun Calls It an Abduction, Police Say It Was a Robbery
The Ondo State Police Command has said what happened at a health facility in Oke Ijebu, Akure was a robbery incident, disputing earlier reports of kidnap, even as operatives of the state’s security outfit, Amotekun, say they rescued victims from abductors in related overnight operations.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Police Public Relations Officer, Abayomi Jimoh, said the incident occurred at about 2:00 a.m. when three armed suspects invaded the health centre by scaling the perimeter fence.
According to the police, the attackers, armed with a pump-action rifle and cutlasses, dispossessed three on-duty staff of personal belongings, including mobile phones and a Point of Sale (POS) terminal, before taking them away in an unregistered black Toyota Venza vehicle parked along the main road.
The statement noted that preliminary investigations revealed the victims were later forced to remove their clothing and abandoned in a bush along the Olokuta axis of Ondo Road, after which the suspects fled.
The victims reportedly found their way to safety with assistance from officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The Commissioner of Police in the state has since visited the scene and ordered a comprehensive, intelligence-driven investigation, with tactical and surveillance teams deployed to track down the perpetrators.
“The Command condemns this act of criminality and reassures residents that adequate security measures have been put in place to prevent a recurrence,” the statement added.
However, the police account appears to contrast with earlier reports suggesting that six health workers were kidnapped during the raid.
Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun, had announced the rescue of five persons in separate overnight operations within Akure South Local Government Area.
The Corps Commander, Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed that a man and his teenage son abducted along the Oda-Akure Road were rescued after a confrontation with kidnappers, while three health workers, reportedly taken earlier, regained their freedom around 4:30 a.m. and are currently receiving treatment.
The differing accounts from the police and Amotekun have raised questions about the exact nature and scale of the incident, particularly whether the health workers were kidnapped or temporarily held and later abandoned.
Residents of Oke Ijebu and surrounding areas remain on edge following the development, with calls for clearer coordination among security agencies and intensified efforts to curb rising insecurity.
