Southwest governors reject proposal to put Amotekun under Police

Southwest governors have rejected the proposal to put the Operation of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), code-named Operation Amotekun under the Inspector-General of Police.

The presidency through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said Amotekun cannot operate outside the structures laid down by the police authorities, Daily Times reports.

Shehu said this on a television programme on Tuesday, August 25.

He said: “Whatever name they go by, Amotekun or whatever, they will be streamlined and they will be run in accordance with the structure as defined by the Inspector-General of police.”

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde reacting to this statement said Amotekun will not be under the control of the federal structure but fully owned, managed and controlled by the state government.

The governor spoke during a meeting with Caretaker Chairmen from the 33 local government areas and the 35 Local Council Development Areas.

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Makinde said, “I am saying it for the whole world to hear that Amotekun is here to stay with us and it will not be under the control of the federal establishment. It will be under our control.

“Security of our people is extremely important and nothing can take place as far as we are concerned in an atmosphere of insecurity and Oyo State is a very large area.

”In terms of landmass, we are more than all the states in the Southeast put together. So, we have a lot to do to secure these areas. We have international borders, there is smuggling taking place, they killed a customs officer in Saki a few weeks ago and those things are not acceptable to us.

Also, Gov Akeredolu speaking on a television programme monitored in Akure, said , “The operation and command of the multi- level of policing cannot be central.

”It is an idea that will come to be. There will be state police and at a point, the local government will have theirs. All of us combined will ensure security of lives and property. Community policing is a good idea.

”Who will be in command, the community will own. We must work towards having multi-level policing.

“The governor will not be the one solely responsible for control of state police. It is not going to be a command to be headed by the governor. The state police will be answerable to the Council, a replication of what we have at the national level. The President is not in charge of the Nigerian Police. We, as a council, took the decision on who to appoint.

“Ours is collaborative and not confrontational. We will collaborate and work together. We have deployed our Amotekun corps into the rural areas. That is where kidnapping is taking place. We recruited hunters who know the forest.

”We will not collapse Amotekun outfit, into Community policing. Amotekun will stand on its own. It will operate under its own law. There is no intimidation. We will not collapse it. There is no need to pretend. We will make them to understand. We are not forcing the IG to understand. We have our own laws. If anybody feels otherwise, he should go to court. Amotekun has come to stay.”

Akeredolu said Amotekun Corps would operate within the confines of the law setting it up.

Operation Amotekun, was inaugurated last year to respond to the surge in insecurity, killings and kidnapping in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti – the states in the Southwest geo-political zone.