Amotekun to the rescue

By Alphonsus N. Effi

Insecurity in the land promoting the course of self defense by indigenes, hence loss of faith in the Federal Security outfits. Thus, culminating in the formation of AMOTEKUN in South-West region of Nigeria. Western Nigeria Security NETWORK (WNSN) code named AMOTEKUN (Leopard), is a Security outfit based in all the six States of the South-Western, Nigeria, responsible for curbing insecurity in the region. This outfit was founded on 9th January 2020 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria as the first regional Security outfit initiated by a geopolitical zone in Nigeria. These zones are namely Lagos State, Oyo State, Ogun State, Ondo State lastly Ekiti State. The establishment of the Security outfit was subject to the decision by all the six States government of the regional summit held in Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria in June, 2019 through development agenda for Western Nigeria Commission (1) AWN (5) in support of the outfit, all the six States governors contributed 20 vehicles each except Oyo that contributed 33 vehicles, inorder to assist the operatives in their basic functions, thus making it a total of 133 vehicles for necessary onslaught of the organisations activities, 100 units of motorcycles each making a total of 600 motorcycles. The members of outfit were drawn form local hunters, the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Agbekoya Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corpse (NSCDC) and Vigilante group.
The operatives of the security outfit will assist police, other security agencies and traditional ruler in combating terrorism, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping and also help in settling herdsmen and farmers contentions in the region. For primary recruitment purposes, Lagos, Osun, Ekiti states recruited 1,320 operatives for the operations, meanwhile, they will carry Dane guns like hunters operating in about 52 deadly black spots all over the region.

This security arrangement by the South-Western government and people is however not appreciated by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, SAN Abubakar Malami, according to vanguard newspaper report of Friday January 24th, 2020 he insisted that Amotekun was illegal. He reiterated the position before going into a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and governors of the South West States, who after the meeting, agreed that a legal framework should be put in place of Amotekun. This notwithstanding, the AFENIFERE, Pan-Yoruba Socio-Cultural Organization leader of the World Yoruba Congress, WYC, Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye and National President of the Agbekoya farmers Association, Aare Aremu Okikiola, reacting to the position of the AGF, urged South-West government not to back-down, insisting AMOTEKUN has come to stay.
It was also alleged that the Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo met with the South west governors and the AGF, as well as the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja after the expanded National Economic Council, INEC, meeting.
Osinbajo for Vice-President, after the meeting said, it was a fruitful and unanimous resolutions were made on the way forward at the meeting with the South West governors, the Attorney general of the Federation and the Inspector general of Police over the controversy surrounding the creation of AMotekun. In all, it was agreed that the structure of Amotekun should align with the community policing strategy of the Federal government.
As alledged by the vanguard publications, chairman of the South West Governors and Governor of Ondo State. Mr. Rotimi, Akerodolu said, the meeting agreed on the way forward and legalframework would be established to back the initiative as recommended by the Federal government. Furthermore, the leader of the world Yoruba Congress WYC, emeritus Professor Banji, Akintoye disagreed with the AGF, saying AMOTEKUN has come to stay. The erudite professor, enthused that we the Yorubas have the instrument for defending our properties,our towns, villages and farmlands against any external aggression. We cannot lie down and wait until we are over run and destroyed. Thus, we have AMOTEKUN as our agent of defense.

Whereas the National President of Agbekoya farmers Association, Aare Aremu Okikiola according to the Vanguard publications warned the South-West governors not to back down or relinquish AMOTEKUN, saying the group was ready to protect the region from marauding herdsmen who are terrorising the vicinity. He enthused “when Hisbah and the civilian JTF were to set up in the North, did the federal government raise any eyebrow? So why are they against Amotekun in the South West? The secret there is that the Miyetti Allah Cattle breeders know that most of their members are criminals and are the ones perpetuating evil into South-West, that is why it is opposed to Amotekun. Their leaders are afraid that their secret will be leaked if Amotekun is allowed to operate accordingly. Amotekun will protect the farmers especially in the South West from these marauding herdsmen who go about destroying farmlands, maiming and raping women in the forest, our governors must not allow themselves to be intimidated or harassed by the federal government. Also special adviser to governor Akeredolu on security matters, Allaji Jimoh Dojumoh said that the insistence of the AGF that Amotekun was illegal is unfortunate. He said “it is obvious the AGF is acting a script, but we are not perturbed. We are determined to push this through no matter what. On Amotekun we stand and it must surely come to reality. The AGF is not a court of Law, so why is he speaking as if he is the court and talking as if what he says is the final? “The facts remain, that the AGF is not a law court, so whatever he says is not final. It has come to the open now, that he is acting a script. And we are confident and assure our people that the governor would not renege at this hour of need and trust.
Doctor Akpor Mudiaga-Odje a lawyer, human rights activist and one of the strong voices for the emancipation of the Niger-Delta people from what he describes as endemic poverty and under-development. The facilitator of the Niger Delta Democratic Union, NDDU, a group he has been using to champion the cause of the Niger Delta people. According to the vanguard publication, he was asked what he thinks about the South –South position on AMOTEKUN? He enthused that Amotekun is a welcomed development. According to him there has been very troubling issues of security with very high rate of armed banditry and kidnappings in Nigeria especially in the absence of war, in the South-West and South-South regions. This unprovoked onslaught by the herders and herdsmen against innocent citizens of this country, especially in the Southern and Middle belt climes of Nigeria has become severely alarming and raised endemic panic across the country and world in general. Accordingly, the South-West states and their people are perfectly in order to protect the properties and lives of their people. Furthermore, he echoed that now is the time for the South-South governors and leaders to urgently emulate the South-West and establish by law, our own communal village security outfit to ward off the incessant attacks of herdsmen on our women, farms likewise kidnapping, attendant attacks on pipelines, Oil installations and flow stations. According to him as reported in the Vanguard Publications, Amotekun, for the avoidance of doubt is not a police force! It is just an organization of communal village security to complement the efforts of government in curtailing crimes in the nation. In the case of Gani Fawehinmi vs Akilu (1989) 3NWLR (PT 112) 685, the Supreme Court ruled that: “every Nigerian is his brother’s keepers and that every Nigerian has a duty to stop the commission of crime and to also report the commission”.

Amotekun is therefore, according to Dr. Akpo Mudiagaodje, is fulfilling the judicial admonition of the Supreme Court as well as fulfilling the provisions of section 4 and 45 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

Amotekun as a sub-regional security outfit to cushion the effect and further beef-up the laxity and cumbersome nature of securing the Nigerian polity that as the case maybe now, too bogus for the Federal troupe alone to manage encouraged the creation and birth of “Amotekun” a situation that will definitely have an immediate spillover effect to encourage other regions of the country to create their own regional outfits like the South-West (Yoruba) regions of Nigeria.