The Ondo State Police Command has dismissed the claim that bandits are operating in the state, stressing that those involved in kidnappings and killings in the state are criminals.

While disclosing this on Monday, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Adebowale Lawal, revealed that those that have been arrested in connection with crimes are not bandits.

Lawal stated this in Akure, the state capital, during the show of force embarked upon by security agencies in the state amid the spate of insecurity facing the state in the past months.

According to the police boss, “Let me quickly debunk that issue of four bandits. We don’t have bandits in Ondo State. We have criminals, not bandits. Two suspected logistics suppliers to all those criminals and kidnappers were arrested along the Eleyowo and Iluabo axes.”

It will be recalled that amid the security challenges facing the state, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, a few days ago, pointedly stated that bandits have not operated anywhere in the state since the 2022 Owo massacre.

Communities within the Akure Airport axis have in the past been prone to bandit attacks, with incessant killings and kidnappings of residents.

The development had led to a series of protests by youths within the communities.