Amotekun not a regional army – Akeredolu

Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said on Friday the Southwest security outfit, Amotekun, is prepared to work with the Nigerian police and other security agencies to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.

He said the security outfit was never conceptualized to operate as a regional army as being speculated in several quarters, but as a child of necessity to assist other security agencies to improve the security apparatus in the region.

Akeredolu, who spoke to a selected group of editors in Abuja, disclosed that the Southwest governors are ready to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to explain the whole concept of the Amotekun to him with a view to ensuring the seamless takeoff and operation of the outfit.

He said: “From the outset, Amotekun was to work with the police and the military. The operatives were to be embedded with the other security agencies just to complement their efforts in combating crimes and insecurity in the Southwest.”

He told the editors that the governors’ had a fruitful discussion with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and the Attorney- General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, adding the six states would return and prepare a legal framework on which the security outfit could operate.

The governor added: “Our lawyers and speakers of the respective Houses of Assembly in the Southwest are to work on the legal framework for Amotekun’s operations. We made it clear at our meeting on Thursday with the Vice President and IGP and AGF that the issue of regionalism is to enable the six states in the Southwest to share intelligence and nothing more.

“In fact our own understanding was that if we held discussions with the IGP on the operational details of Amotekun that would and if he agreed with us, it would suffice for all other agencies of government. In any case, the IGP did not oppose our operational guidelines and we are on the right path to take off.

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“In any case, we are not slowing down. The only thing we want to do is to put a law in place to legalise the operation of Amotekun. But while that is being done, we are going to intensify the training of the operatives, which is to be handled by the Nigerian Police Force.

“We look forward to Amotekun coming out in a robust manner soon. Those who have spoken against it, such as former Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, spoke out of ignorance because he does not understand what the security outfit stands for and why it is being rolled out in the first place.”

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