Southwest State Governors of Nigeria, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo and Lagos have launched a security network called “Operation Amotekun“.
These Security operatives have started working in some parts of the South West even though they have been declared that the security outfit is illegal recently by Federal Government
Here are 7 Things You Should Know About Operation Amotekun:-
1. Amotekun is the Yoruba word for Leopard
The logo of this operation features the image of a prancing, angry leopard in full flight.
It signifies ‘Zero tolerance to crime’ as it is in their pay-off line.
2. Amotekun Seeks To Complement The Police In Southwest Not To Replace Them
According to Ekiti Governor Fayemi, Amotekun is a complement that will give our people confidence that they are being looked after by those they elected into office.
“So, we do not want this to create fear in the mind of anybody as we are not creating a regional police force and are fully aware of the steps we must take to have state police .“We do not want anybody to misconstrue the concept of Amotekun.” — Fayemi said.
The idea is further strengthen security in Southwest by making community police officers called Amotekun stand-in to complement the Police force.
3. Rising Kidnappings And Robbery Informed The Need To Establish Amotekun
The southwest governors cite rising insecurity in the region, kidnappings and robbery as major reasons for the birth of Amotekun.
According to Fayemi, it was in the context of the unfortunate development that we lost the daughter of Pa Reuben Fasanranti, the leader of Afenifere and that further put pressure on us, as leaders in the southwest, to do something about insecurity.
“As elected leaders, our primary responsibility, according to Section 14 (2) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 as amended, is the security and welfare of citizens.
In a bid to protect citizens against Kidnappings and Robbery menace, the Southwest Governors decided to fashion out a way to complement the work of the mainstream security agencies overstretched in their efforts to arrest the menace that have afflicted the entire country.
4. Amotekun Personnel Will Be Locally Sourced More Like Your Neighborhood Police
The leader of the Yoruba World Congress, Prof. Banji Akintoye, adds that Amotekun operatives are going to be well trained by professionals and security experts.
According to him;
The people that will work in Amotekun are going to be trained properly by highly educated people for them to relate properly with the police and the army, Akintoye says.
5. Amotekun Won’t Operate Like The Odua Peoples Congress (OPC)
Amotekun officials will have uniforms and won’t rely heavily on charms and machetes for their jobs.
According to the South West Governors, Amotekun will be professional and courteous on the job and penetrate areas your regular police officers can’t penetrate because we trust that they know the terrain better.
With this Reasons, Is It A Good or Bad Idea?
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