Our challenges with Amotekun, by commanders

From Seye Ojo, Ibadan; Priscilla Ediare, Ado- Ekiti; Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure and Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

Commanders of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) codenamed Operation Amotekun have stated that the security outfit would have done better in protecting the South West states but for a number of bottlenecks the Amotekun corps is currently grappling with.

They spoke with Saturday Sun in separate interviews in Ibadan, Ado-Ekiti, Abeohuta and Akure, during which they denied allegations by the leadership of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore that Amotekun was specifically set up to eliminate Fulani people.

In an interview with Saturday Sun last week, National President of Miyetti Allah Koutal Hore, Alhaji Abdulahi Bello Bodejo had alleged that both Amotekun and Ebubeagu had been created to kill Fulani people. He warned that his group was planning to set up a vigilance group with 5, 000 members across the 36 states unless Amotekun and Ebubeagu were banned.

The Commander of Amotekun Corps in Ekiti State, Brig-Gen Joe Komolafe (retd) said factors like the Federal Government policy on bearing of firearms, judiciary, police, absence of technology, fake news, and the reluctance of citizens to give information as bottlenecks hindering operation of the Amotekun.

But in spite of the challenges, he said the outfit has performed creditably in the state since its establishment in Ekiti on October 19 2020.

“We are barely six months old. Comparatively speaking, Ekiti is still the safest place in the South West, in fact, one of the safest states in Nigeria. There is no society that is free of crime, but it is your ability to respond to each incident either proactively or reactively is what matters. . Proactively is when people give you information, you act on the information, before If somebody is arrested and the structure is so weak that you cannot go on to prosecute the person and award appropriate punishment, then the person goes back into the society to recycle himself as a criminal,” he stated.

He said Amotekun in Ekiti has been having joint operation with the security agencies, as well as non-state organisations like the Vigilance Group, O’odua Peoples Congress (OPC) and others.

He said the security agency and its operations would be better judged if the bottlenecks are dispensed with.

Commander of the corps in Ondo State, Mr Adetunji Adeleye said Amotekun had improved the security of lives of the people of the state. He said even though the outfit might not have fulfilled all the purposes for which it was established, insecurity has been reduced drastically in all parts of the state.

He recalled that the corps recently arrested over 100 cows for allegedly destroying some farms in the Akoko division of the state, just as some Fulani herdsmen and suspected kidnappers had been arrested in different parts of the state.

He regretted, though, that lack of effective communication strategy and initiative between the corps and members of the public are hampering the efforts of the outfit. He said the cooperation between Amotekun and other security agencies is commendable.

Ogun State Commander of the outfit, Dave Akinremi, a retired Commissioner of Police, said there was no way Amotekun could have targeted law-abiding Fulani persons.

Akinremi said the laws that established the Amotekun were clear on the responsibilities assigned it, which according to him, is mainly to complement the conventional security agencies, in tackling insecurity.

He said the security outfit would operate within the ambit of the law by gathering intelligence and offer support to the police and other sister security agencies, to nip crimes in the bud and bring to book criminals, irrespective of ethnic nationality of who is involved.

He said Amotekun operatives were in every part of the state to gather intelligence and work to prevent crime before they occur.

Akinremi, however, said his men were busy mapping out strategies to nip crime in the bud, declaring Amotekun would prefer to be proactive rather than reactive.

Chairman of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State, Gen Kunle Togun (retd), a former Director of Military Intelligence and Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service, dared the Miyetti Allah leader to give names and locations of Fulani people allegedly killed by the Amotekun Corps has killed and where?”