What Is Amotekun And Why Is It Stirring Controversy?
Amid growing security concerns across the country, the six Southwest governors alongside traditional rulers and prominent personalities agreed to create a joint security network that will be responsible for providing auxiliary security in the region. They called the group, Amotekun.
Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); gathered in Ibadan on January 9, 2020, and launched the group in the absence of Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun); Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) who cited poor weather condition for their absence.
What is Amotekun and why was it formed?
Amotekun means Leopard in Yoruba. Their emblem features a fierce, prancing leopard on a golden shield. It is clearly marked as the Western Nigeria Security Network with a tagline that reads: Zero Tolerance to crime.
The group was formed to complement the police and other security agencies in tackling security threats that were becoming too rampant in the Southwest. Their major task was to bring back normalcy after kidnappings, armed robbery and herdsmen attacks were beginning to take foothold across some states in the region.
The personnel for the Amotekun was sourced locally among the six southwest states. In addition to the manpower, each state provided 20 trucks and 100 units of motorcycles for the mobility of the group. The group is only allowed to use licensed Dane guns, similar to the one used by hunters. Amotekun is prohibited from carrying assault rifles.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and all traditional rulers from the Southwest, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi were in support of the governors’ attempt at trying to solve the security challenges facing the region.
The controversy
The move to establish the security group was met with mixed reactions outside the region, and it wasn’t long before the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami declared the group illegal and ordered its disbandment.
Malami stated that the provision of security was the sole responsibility of the federal government and the governors had no constitutional right to form the group. The order sparked some controversy and was rejected by many leaders from the Southwest. The conversation about who was right between the AGF and the governors led to a fierce public debate.
Before the real intentions and modus operandi of Amotekun could be actualized, a lot of people had already developed varying opinions of what the group is all about. While the governors and supporters of the group saw it as a complementary security outfit for community policing, its opponents saw it as an ethnic paramilitary group.
The most vocal opponent of Amotekun was the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, which is a partisan advocacy group that promotes the welfare of Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. Their opposition to the security group was out of the belief that Amotekun was formed to attack its members in the Southwest.
Cutting through the noise
The Chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum and Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu quickly debunked the notion by affirming that Amotekun was not targeting any particular ethnic group or persons.
According to Akeredolu, Amotekun, when fully operational, will serve the purposes of local information and intelligence gathering for processing and usage by the conventional security agencies. And is by no means a replacement of the nation’s security agencies.
By the mere nature of it, Amotekun is an organized vigilante group.
Tinubu’s response
While the whole controversy was going on, many people prodded one of the most prominent elder statesmen and the National leader of the APC from the Southwest, Bola Tinubu to add his voice to the conversation. Although it took him a while, he finally aired his view by saying that his “position on Amotekun is not blind or uncritical; there are several organizational and functional aspects of the proposal that could cause problems if left unresolved”.
He urged those on both sides of the argument to be a bit more circumspect.
“Those claiming that this limited, inoffensive addition to security threatens the Republic have taken themselves upon a madcap excursion,” he said.
He called for further deliberations on the issue to create a more sustainable security outfit.
Putting the controversy to rest
On Thursday, January 23, Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo engaged the Southwest governors in a closed-door meeting on behalf of President Buhari who was away on a foreign trip. He relayed the federal government’s intention to work with them to create a proper legal framework for the establishment and smooth operation of Amotekun.
A statement signed by Osinbajo’s Media aide, Laolu Akande revealed that the meeting was fruitful.
“Having regard to the need for all hands to be on deck in addressing the security concerns across the country, it was agreed that the structure of Amotekun should also align with the Community Policing strategy of the Federal Government,” he stated
The governors agreed to the proposition and it is expected that Amotekun which was formed two years after the immediate past governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose was widely criticized for commissioning a group of hunters to protect their communities against marauding herdsmen, will finally take hold.
