Youth protest ‘Amotekun’ corps formation in south-west

…Say outfit posses danger 2023 polls

Protesting youths drawn from the six states in the south-west region yesterday marched against the formation of the Western Nigerian Security Network, codenamed ‘Operation Amotekun’ in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital.

The group under the banner of Yoruba Appraisal Forum that spearheaded the protest wants the security outfit scrapped across the six states of Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Ondo and Ogun to avoid what they referred to as a future calamity.

The group said they have uncovered alleged plots to use the ‘Amotekun’ corps to destabilize the south-west and ultimately, the entire country in 2023.

They demanded that the entire Yoruba race would be endangered in 2023 with the existence of ‘Amotekun,’ predicting that the corps will be hijacked by politicians for insidious mission in the coming elections.

Some of the placards the protesting youth carried had inscriptions that read: “Amotekun will turn our youths to militia group,” “Amotekun motive; shine your eyes” and “Amotekun can bring proliferation of arms”, among others.

Addressing journalists at Ajilosun area where the protest was held, the group’s Coordinator, Mr. Adeshina Animasaun, said the ‘Amotekun’ initiative is laudable, but insisted that it has been hijacked by those nursing political ambitions in 2023.

Animasaun appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to re-jig the country’s security architecture to prevent the resurgence of what he called militia groups with tendencies to pose dangers to the lives of the people.

“We call on President Buhari to use his good office to call the south-west governors to order by prevailing on them not to sign the ‘Amotekun’ bill into law yet, until proper checks about the security is done,” he said.

The group faulted the hurried manner at which the governors conducted the public hearings leading to the formation of the ‘Amotekun’ corps, saying that “it ought to have been done senatorially, rather than bringing few people to the state capitals to contribute in a programme that lasted for 30 minutes.

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“The south-west governors should be dissuaded from innocently equipping and funding a security outfit that some unscrupulous and wicked individuals have planned to use against the same people the governors have sworn to protect.

“The governors should be made to realise that they should not allow themselves to be rail-roaded into taking an action they will regret later.

“The nation’s security agencies like the police, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Department of State Services (DSS) need to profile the current promoters of ‘Amotekun’ security outfit with a view to ascertaining its real membership and their original intentions.”