The corps said it also arrested 22 persons who were allegedly involved in various criminal activities across the state.

Speaking at the headquarters of the Amotekun Corps, in Akure, the state capital, on Wednesday, the state Commander of the corps, Adetunji Adeleye, said the suspects were arrested for allegedly breaching the law and order of the state.

According to the Amotekun boss, the illegal immigrants were allegedly brought into the state from the Republic of Togo and the Republic of Benin for unlawful motives.

He said, “We have unusual visitors amongst us. We have Mustafa, Steve, Alfosus, Tango Juntu, and Simon involved in bringing in illegal immigrants into the country for sinister motives.

“We equally have the 22 illegal immigrants that, upon interrogation, were not able to tell us how they came in from Benin Republic and Togo without any mission into the country. ‎

“We are right now going to hand them over to the immigration services for further scrutiny, to the extent that I believe once they find out that their stay is not healthy, they will be sent out of the country.”

On the other 16 suspects, Adeleye said they were allegedly involved in various crimes such as rape, stealing, vandalism, killing, kidnapping, among others.

“What we are saying is that Ondo State still remains one of the safest states, especially with the synergy that exists with all security agencies. As of today, we were able to arrest a syndicate that has consistently been vandalising state government machinery (SIC).

“Overnight, when our operatives caught up with them as a result of our diligent intelligence, they opened fire on our men, but we remained resolute. Rather than responding, we were able to apprehend them.

“We have one Aderemi, 35 years, who was arrested in relation to killing, murder, and suspected kidnapping. We equally have one Mr Etok, a 45-year-old man, who is suspected to be a spy for kidnappers,” he stated.

He added, “We have one Victor who was arrested in Ofosu on the allegation of murder, and we have Mwazu, Sani, Mosund, James, and Sehidu arrested in connection with the vandalisation of government property.”

Adeleye reiterated that the state remained safe, but unsafe for criminals.

“It is not a place for criminals to thrive. ‎Head or tail, Amotekun will catch you, so the best thing is not to be involved in criminal activities,” he declared.