Amotekun: No going back on south-west’s security outfit

In spite of its declaration as illegal by the federal government, the chairman of the South West Governors Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, has said there is no going back on the operation of the regional security, Amotekun.

He said governors in the south-west region are prepared to “pursue operation Amotekun to a logical conclusion.”

The governor spoke at the 2020 Armed forces Remembrance day celebration on Wednesday in Akure, Ondo State.

His comments were a response to the statement of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday, which declared Amotekun as illegal and in conflict with the Constitution.

Mr Malami had also noted that the south-west governors failed to carry his office along in the setting of the security outfit which is designed to complement the efforts of statutory security agencies in combating crime and other vices in the region.

Mr Akeredolu further said the governors of the region were committed to the success of Amotekun to check incidences of banditry, kidnapping, farmers and herders clashes.

He clarified that Amotekun is not a para-military outfit and that its introduction would complement the efforts of other security agencies.

Speaking further on the position of the governors, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Donald Ojogo, said the import of the pursuit of the outfit to logical conclusion is to seek all legal means to establish its necessity.

He said the governor’s statement indicated that Amotekun will continue, as efforts are put up to secure a favourable posture from the federal government.

Some legal luminaries such as Itse Sagay, Mike Ozekhome and Olusola Oke have separately faulted the position of the attorney-general on the security outfit.

While Mr Sagay wants the south-west governors to ignore the statement of the AGF, Mr Ozekhome wants the governors to proceed to the courts to tame the affront of the federal government.

The Southern and Middle Belt Forum, while criticising the declaration of the attorney-general, urged the governors to allow the federal government to go to court to seek clarification rather than engage in mere conjectures as to the position of the law regarding Amotekun.