Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun, said it has rescued and rehabilitated a 16-year-old girl who was found wandering under a bridge in Ore, in Odigbo local government area of the state, after being molested and drugged.

The State Commander of the corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed this to newsmen during the parade of some suspected criminals, said the teenager was rescued some five months ago in a pathetic condition.

According to the Corps Commander, the young girl was unable to remember her name or give any details about her background, but said it was discovered that the girl had been molested and heavily drugged, saying it took the girl over four months to even recall her name.

The Amotekun Commander said the rescue and rehabilitation of the teenager is part of the corporate social responsibility of the Corps, not only in enforcing security but also in restoring hope to traumatised individuals.

Adeleye said, “She was picked up by our eagle-eyed detectives in Ore and brought to our health facility, where she was rehabilitated. I must commend the matron of the Amotekun Clinic for giving her the best care, which revived her to life.

Five months ago, eagle-eyed operatives of the Corps discovered a 16-year-old girl wandering under a bridge in Ore. She was visibly disoriented, frightened, and unable to recall even her own name.

“Upon further interrogation, operatives found out that the teenager had been drugged and molested. The abuse was so severe that it took her four full months before she could remember who she was.

“Rather than abandon her to her fate, Amotekun took her into their health facility for rehabilitation. Under the care of the Corps’ clinic matron, the young girl gradually regained her strength and her sense of identity.

“I want to thank the matron of the Amotekun Clinic for giving her excellent care to the point that she revived, came back to life, and was able to tell us she was from Oyo.

Investigations eventually led the team to her parents in Oyo, who admitted that they had released her into the care of a ward in Ore before tragedy struck.

“After six months of rehabilitation, the girl has been successfully reunited with her family, with hopes that she will return to society as a “full-fledged human being again.”

“For Amotekun, this case is not an isolated one but a reflection of its broader corporate social responsibility. Beyond arresting criminals, the Corps sees itself as a safety net for victims of crime, many of whom are often abandoned by society.”

The guardian of the girl, Sarah Ayodeji, wife to the young girl’s uncle, said the girl left home after stealing over N200,000 and never returned home, saying all efforts to find her were not successful.

She, however, commended the Amotekun corps in rescuing and rehabilitating the teenager and reuniting her with her family.

Meanwhile, the Amotekun corps paraded 28 suspects arrested for various crimes across the state, including kidnapping, rape, fraud, assault, and cattle rustling.

The Commander of the Corps said the agency had intensified efforts to not only apprehend criminals but also dismantle their sponsors and backers, stressing that “the chain of criminality must be broken and uprooted” to ensure lasting peace and economic growth in the state.

“Today, we are parading a total of 28 suspects, and I want to let you know that the criminal world is evolving. Therefore, Ondo State Security Network Agency Amotekun always strives to be ahead of them.

“We have now gone beyond arresting criminals and suspects alone. As we talk now, we are after their godfathers and backbones, and the reason is simple. So we are saying that until we uproot them, we won’t have total peace.

“We need the socio-economic growth of Ondo State to continue to increase. By the intervention of Amotekun Corp, the IGR of Ondo State in 2023 increased by over 500% and we don’t want to relent. Hence, our fight is not against the criminals alone, but against their sponsors.

“I give you an example, as part of the people we are parading today, there is a section of them that steals, kills, murders riders, and dispossesses them.

“They have already made market receivers, who, within minutes, dismantle and sell to those who will later on assemble and sell. We’ve gone after them and we’ve arrested the suspect, we’ve arrested the sponsor, we’ve arrested all the culprits.

“The chain of criminality had to be broken and uprooted, and that is the directive of His Excellency, the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to create an enabling environment for investors to bombard Ondo.“ (Nigerian Tribune)