Amotekun: So far, so good?

MORE than a year after South-West states established the State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun, various stakeholders have pointed to the strides of the outfit in fighting crime and criminality in the geopolitical zone, though the outfit remains a work in progress as regards efficiency in carrying out its duties. 

Ondo 

Stories of activities of Amotekun in Ondo State have ranged from foiling kidnap attempts to arresting armed robbers and other criminals, stemming incessant clashes between farmers and herders. 

Speaking on the impact of the outfit, the state Commander, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said Amotekun had been successful in stemming down the crime rate and ensuring peaceful environment. 

He said the first step taken towards ending the frequent friction between farmers and herders in the state was the ban on the illegal occupants of the state reserves, while herders in the state were made to register with the government, just as it has become illegal for cows to destroy farmlands in the state. 

He disclosed that many cows had been seized by Amotekun corps while the corps no longer gives room for negotiation for compensation for farm crops destroyed by cows as a result of illegal grazing. 

Rather, he said, government has been prosecuting owners of seized cows and auctions seized animals after getting court order. 

Speaking on ridding the state of criminal elements and activities, especially kidnapping and robbery, Adeleye said men of the corps were deployed on the highways and major towns and villages across the 18 local government areas of the state. 

To date, Amotekun has arrested and prosecuted no fewer than 500 suspected criminals within the last 12 months while over 250 of them are serving terms at various correctional centres in the state. 

He disclosed that 18 suspected criminals were recently arrested with over 500 daggers, knives and guns concealed in sacks loaded with tigernuts, saying this was made possible through vigilance of his men. 

On the synergy between Amotekun and other security agencies, Adeleye said, “most of the time we work closely with the DSS,” adding that “when we want to carry out any operation, most of the time we engage men of the NSCDC and the police.” 

He, however, said his despite successes recorded by his men, they could not achieve much more because they were not allowed to bear arms. 

He stressed the need for the Federal Government to allow the state security outfit to bear arms to be able to function optimally. 

Some residents, however, fingered some officials of the security outfit in undue harassment, especially in the ongoing stop and search and vehicle identification exercise in the state. 

A youth representative, Oluyemi Fashipe, petitioned the Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to address the rising spate of brutality and harassment reported among the Amotekun corps in the state. Fashipe, who praised Amotekun for their gallantry, however, warned that if the activities of members of the corps are not checked, the personnel will continue to veer off their scope of operation. 

Adeleye, however, denied claims his personnel were involved in search of mobile phones of motorists, saying they were only carrying out search on suspicious tinted vehicles and checking police tinted permit. 

Chairman, Landlord Association of Owode community in the state, Adesola Ijimakinwa, said the people of the community have been sleeping without fear since Amotekun came into operation. 

He urged the Amotekun corps to have a better working relationship with sister security agencies in the state to ensure peace and stability. 

Another resident, Mr Micheal Adesina, said, “Before the establishment of Amotekun, security situation across the state was appalling. It was pretty difficult for the people in the state to sleep with their two eyes closed. But with Amotekun, we have heaved a sigh of relief 

 

Ekiti 

Since its establishment, Amotekun corps in Ekiti State has, to a large extent, tackled kidnappings, killings, armed robbery and other criminalities in the state. 

On several occasions, the agents foiled kidnappings on major roads and rescued victims from their abductors, up to the Kwara and Kogi forests. 

However, the most pronounced challenge facing the security outfit in the state is inadequate manpower. 

The less than 400 personnel is largely inadequate to effectively man the 16 local government areas of the state. 

Aside the manpower deficit, the security outfit is yet to be fully equipped, especially with technological gadgets that could help the agents in tackling series of crimes bedeviling the state. 

Former Secretary to the State Government, Biodun Oyebanji, noted, however, that the gadgets were being procured to specifications, hence the delay in the last one year. He assured that drones and other equipment will arrive the state any moment from now. 

Also speaking, the corps commander in Ekiti, Brigadier-General Joe Komolafe (retd), said the outfit has contributed in no small measure to the security of the state in the last one year, including high-profile arrests of criminals and their prosecution. 

Komolafe denied the allegations of the Amotekun personnel following political officeholders in the state, saying none of the officers with the corps were attached to any politician. 

Assessing the activities of the outfit, a community leader, Chief Adeolu Olaiya, said it had done creditably, there is still room for improvement. He called for recruitment of more hands for the outfit to tackle insecurity efficiently. 

A 45-year-old farmer, Johnson Olaoye, pleaded with Governor Kayode Fayemi to allow Amotekun function in the interest of security. 

 

Osun 

According to field commander of the corps in Osun State, Comrade Shittu Amitolu, the outfit has contributed to the reduction of crime in the state. 

He said since its establishment, the outfit has constantly waged war on kidnappers, robbers and other undesirable elements in the society. On excesses of agents of the corps in the state, he countered that the outfit is cultured in behaviour, lettered in approach and civil in dealing with people. 

He discarded the allegation that the outfit had been turned to personal security for politicians as he assured that the challenges of the outfit in the state would soon be over. 

He argued that Amotekun had not deviated from its laid down operational guidelines to tackle insecurity and reduce the spate of criminal activities in the region. 

An Osun-based security expert, Mr Akin Adeyi, rated the performance of Amotekun in the state as average, saying the agents could be more effective if they could relate well with those of the sister security outfits. 

A legal luminary, Mr Solomon Ben Olonade, charged the state government to provide Amotekun personnel with sophisticated weapons, war-combating equipment and communication gadgets that could make them more effective. 

 

Oyo 

The commandant of Amotekun in Oyo State, Colonel Olayinka Olayanju (retd), speaking during a recent event to mark its first anniversary, said the corps in the state had recorded modest successes. 

He attributed the successes to the strides of its personnel, with some of them paying the supreme price, others nursing various injuries from gunshot wounds and fractured bones. Olayanju, however, conceded that some of its personnel are not as proficient and skilled as expected in the performance of their duties. 

He especially decried that some Amotekun personnel had not been the best in imbibing the culture of discipline, professionalism and other values required to earn the full confidence of the people of the state. 

The commandant described Amotekun corps in the state as a work in progress, but pointed out that it had had to dismiss some personnel for offences ranging from extortion to illegal activities, extrajudicial killings, theft and insubordination. 

In his own assessment of the agency in the state, a sociocultural enthusiast, Olalekan Hammed, said the outfit seemed to have overcome its initial amateurish operations where there were instances of accidental discharges from its personnel. 

He said training of the personnel for effective operations is becoming visible with reduction in reports of kidnapping, farmers/ herders clashes and armed robbery. 

Hammed, however, urged the Federal Government to grant the agency to license Amotekun corps to carry more sophisticated arms and ammunition for the personnel to be more effective. 

A security expert, Sergeant Araoye Adeola (retd), said despite the challenges confronting the agency, Amotekun in Oyo state has surpassed expectation. 

Specifically noting that Oyo town and Ibadan, the state capital, is notable for cult clashes, Araoye said Amotekun had sanitised the state of such clashes and other criminal activities in recent time. 

In Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun areas of the state, Araoye also lauded Amotekun for combating criminal herdsmen and arresting bandits and other criminals. 

 

Ogun 

For Ogun State commander, David Akinremi, quite a lot of positive strides have been recorded by Amotekun in the state. 

Recently, personnel of the outfit arrested a motorcycle thief within a bank premises at Panseke area of Abeokuta and handed him over to the police for further investigation and prosecution. 

Another feat recorded was the arrest in November of two suspected ritualists at Ijebu-Igbo area of the state who were found with headless body and dismembered human parts in a casket. 

However, there are calls for the leadership of the outfit to increase its spread to some areas of the state, especially areas notorious for criminality and insecurity. 

A media professional, Mr Abiodun Lawal, said inadequate personnel is one of the reasons the impact of the outfit is not being felt in some parts of the state. 

He, therefore, asked the government to recruit more personnel, get more operational vehicles and other security gadgets for the corps to perform optimally. 

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Mr Abdulateef Sobola, a social crusader, said the state security network is doing its best within the ambit of the law and is synergising with other sister security agencies. 

Another resident, Alhaji Adekunle Abdulazeez, said, “I think the Amotekun personnel are trying their best. In the Yewa axis of Ogun State notorious for herdsmen crisis, I think the problem of killer herders has reduced drastically. 

“Coupled with the fact that the state government has enacted the anti-grazing law, the criminal activities of herdsmen appear to have been put in check now. The fact that herders’ attacks have subsided, to me, is a pointer that the Amotekun corps is apparently working. 

“However, I think the agency should be more strengthened with necessary equipment, vehicles and highly-trained personnel. There is also the need to make them more visible.”

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