Fulani leader, Iskilu Wakili, who was arrested by the OPC and local vigilante in Kajola, Ibarapa area of Oyo state on Sunday, has denied any links with kidnapping or any other nefarious activity.
The police had confirmed the arrest of Wakili, who was taken to hospital before being taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).
Residents of Ibarapa had identified Wakili as a mastermind of kidnapping in the area, and also accused him of leading Fulani herdsmen that attack farms and destroy their farms in the axis.
However, speaking on Monday, Wakili denied the accusations.
He said he fainted twice when the OPC and local vigilante picked him up because he had been ill for a while.
He narrated how his own son was a victim of kidnapping and he had to part with money as ransom to secure his release.
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“Sometime last year, two of my children were kidnapped and I paid millions of naira as ransom before they were released. I am not a kidnapper.
“Two days after my return from hospital (in Cotonou, Republic of Benin), I was lying down because I was ill and suddenly some women came and started shouting that armed OPC men had come looking for me.
“I asked them to flee but I could not run because I was sick. Two men later came and picked me from where I was lying down, they threw me in their vehicle naked. I fainted many times before they drove me to the police station in Igboora. From there we were taken to SCID, Ibadan.
I am not a criminal, my children are not criminals. I don’t know anything about kidnapping or any crime. I have many cows and I know they stray into farms at times but I don’t have criminal records anywhere and this can be investigated. After they took me away from my home, a woman, Tande, was killed,” Wakili said.