The Commander, Ekiti Amotekun Corps, Brig. Gen. Joe Komolafe (retd.), on Saturday, warned residents against conniving with kidnappers to desist from such or face consequences.
Komolafe, who said that apart from facing the wrath of the law when caught, the collaborators would end up as victims of the kidnappers as a result of their greed.
The Amotekun boss spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, in reaction to the revelation of a kidnap victim that villagers were cooking for kidnappers who abducted him, just as some okada riders were privy to the kidnappers’ activities.
Reacting, Komolafe said, “We are trying as much as possible to speak to the minds of the residents that it is not in their best interest to aid the kidnappers because one day, they may fall victim.”
“The kidnappers are here. They are not spirits. Residents should give information. We tell residents – why don’t you cooperate with us and security agencies and give us information?
“You don’t need to collaborate with criminals. Why will residents stay by the roadside and call kidnappers in the bush to arrest a particular vehicle which they think conveys people who can pay ransom? I always tell villagers there is no point collaborating with kidnappers and that what they should rather do is to give information to the security agencies.
“We are intensifying the sensitisation because when we are able to remove the collaborators, when we are able to make our people report strange faces, movements and activities, busting the kidnappers will be a lot easier,” Komolafe added.