Amotekun dismantles criminal network operating under a “lunacy cover” in Ondo.

Operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, known as the Amotekun Corps, have arrested individuals who pretended to be mentally ill in order to commit crimes across the state.

The suspects, who were posing as lunatics, were accused of kidnapping, drug trafficking and robbery.

Amotekun commander in the state, Adetunji Adeleye, said the new tactics were uncovered after intelligence revealed the suspects’ methods.

Adeleye added that the fake lunatics were part of the 98 suspected criminals detained during the corps’ anti‑kidnapping operations.

“Our intelligence and plain‑clothes officers monitored and tracked them to places where they charged their phones, changed clothes, and coordinated operations before they were arrested,” he said.

While presenting the suspects at the corps headquarters in Akure, the state capital, the commander recounted how Amotekun operatives rescued a kidnapped couple without a ransom being paid.

He explained that the agency’s rapid‑response team moved into the forest immediately after receiving distress information, leading to the rescue of the female victim, while an overnight operation eventually secured the release of her husband.