The controversy surrounding establishment of Amotekun, may have been laid to rest as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday brokered a truce between the Federal government and the South West Governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting which was attended by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the federation, Abubakar Malami, however directed the South West Governors to “back to their relevant State House of Assembly to enact relevant laws backing the establishment of Amotekun”.
Governor Rotimi Akeredoliu of Ondo State, while briefing State House Correspondents after the meeting disclosed that both parties have agreed that Amotekun remains while the South West Governors go back to work on the legal frame work
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He stated that the meeting agreed on the way forward, saying that a legal framework would be established to back up the initiative.
The meeting followed apprehensions over Amotekun creation, following complaints raised by some groups including the Miyetti Allah group.
The governors at the meeting, which took place in the Vice President’s office include the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Ekiti state governors, Kayode Fayemi, Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun state and his Ondo state counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, as well as deputy governors of Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states.
The creation of Amotekun, a local Vigilance security arrangement by the South West Governors is said to have emboldened other regions to mull establishment of similar initiatives to counter prevailing security challenges occasioned by kidnappings, banditry, and sundry criminal attacks in their domains.
With the agreement on Thursday, the coast is now clear for the Southwest to establish and operate the regional security outfit, Amotekun.
Prior to the development, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had earlier declared Amoteku as “illegal”.
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu was also in attendance at the meeting.
The North-Central region has unanimously agreed to adopt Community Policing Strategy as an effective tool in bringing policing to the grassroots, the governments in the area have announced.
The decision was taken at a security meeting, tagged the North-Central Security Summit, held in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital. The meeting was aimed at mapping out strategies to content the rising security challenges in the region, and by extension the country.
The summit had in attendance, governors of the six states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the region, security experts, traditional rulers, state and federal lawmakers civil society groups and other stakeholders.
The six states in the South West region recently formed a security outfit codenamed Amotekun – the Yoruba name for Leopard- to fight armed robbery and kidnapping in the area. The formation of the outfit is now smeared in controversy, after the federal government declared it illegal and in contravention of the Constitution.
The Lafia meeting said the new strategy will be effectively implemented with the use of traditional rulers and community leaders, who will assist in the selection of community policing officers that will work within the communities.
Stakeholders at the summit who are determined to curtail the excessive of criminals and to sustain such gathering that would bring about peace, unity and peaceful coexistence among the diverse ethnic nationalities, as well as to ensure a safer society, have also approved the quarterly meeting of Governors of the six states, including the FCT, Abuja, with the code name the G-7 joint security summit.
The governors present at the Summit included, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq of Kwara, Abubakar Bello of Niger, while the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Bello was represented by Adamu Gwari, the Director of Security
Wale Oshun, the national President of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) has said the formation of the Southwest security outfit Amotekun, has become inevitable because of the worsening security across the Southwest region.
On Tuesday, the Yoruba World Congress (YWC) staged a protest rally across the Southwest states in support of the initiative. The group said it was solidly behind the regions Governors decision and would stand with them. The rally was disrupted by the Police.
However, explaining the group’s position over the establishment of the security outfit in an interview with BusinessDay, Thursday, Oshun said the Yorubas had the right to defend themselves from any forms of attacks and that his group was in support of the initiative.
Oshun said no amount of intimidation from any quarters could stop the security outfit from seeing the light of the day, stressing that it had the full backing of the Yorubas, both home and abroad.
According to him, “There is no Yoruba man that would not be in support of Amotekun. This is just to protect ourselves. Listen to our Obas, our intellectual community, the ordinary citizens. It has an overwhelming approval of the Yoruba people, both home and abroad.
“We have to realise that it is an indication that every human being has a right to protect himself. Security is a public function; if anything, or someone comes to attack you, you have to defend yourself. That is what Amotekun is all about,” Oshun said.
Speaking further, he criticised the Attorney-General of the Federal, Abubakar Malami, over his comment on the setting up of the security outfit, while describing it has ‘reckless’.
He said the constitution guarantees every Nigerian equally right, while adding that it was the highest form of injustice by the authorities, if the current situation is allowed to continue without effort to check the trend.
“I have said it before that the AGF may be speaking for himself; because as the AGF, he should be conversant with the constitution that every individual has a right to defend himself from unlawful attacks.
“So, when you now say that we cannot set up Amotekun and the criminals keep coming to attack us so we can’t defend ourselves from them? This is a government that is not providing the necessary guarantee that they can protect us. All the kidnapping, cult-related killings would not be taking place if the government is proactive. I believed the AGF comment was reckless.
“He is the one that is politicising it, he is reckless. I have said that before and it is in the media. Maybe, he is waiting for all Yoruba People to be killed before he makes a move.
“What he has not realised is that even our laws does not say when you are attacked, you can’t fold your hands and look,” he added.
Osinbajo had earlier on Thursday presided over the meeting of the National Economic Council NEC before proceeding to meet the south west governors over Amotekun.
Speaking earlier, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State had declared his support for the regional security outfit , saying that Plateau had long established its state Police
“We have been operating our own state Police for a very long time . We call ours Operation rainbow and we have advanced beyond that level as we are now introducing electronic devices using information and communications technology to drive our state Police
He however noted that there was no plans for regional security outfits
“The community policing is good for every state. We have the people who regularly give information about what is happening to the Police
“There is no going back on Community Policing. We have already gone far. We have a well-organized system to ensure that it succeeds.”
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