South-West Governors Move To Legalise Amotekun

Emboldened by the huge support from the people of the South West region in particular and across the states of the country in general, the South West governors have moved fast to give legal backing to the regional security outfit, codenamed Operation Amotekun which they launched on January 9 this year.

This is just as the Nigeria military has vowed that it will not allow any individual or group to jeopardize the sovereignty and stability of Nigeria’s territorial integrity. The military told relevant stakeholders to join hands with the armed forces and intelligence agencies to ensure that Nigeria is secured and not to look for other methods likely to negate the national policy and Community Policing approved by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

Meanwhile, Saturday Vanguard learnt authoritatively that the laws to back up Amotekun are before South West States Houses of Assembly while the lawmakers are already fast tracking the legalisation.

The source also told Saturday Vanguard that irrespective of the position of the Federal government, the Western Nigeria Security Network was already in operation and the South West governors would do everything within their powers to provide adequate security for the people of the zone.

It will be recalled that after the launch of the security out in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami declared it illegal arguing that the outfit was not backed by any known law in the land and that he was not consulted before the outfit was launched.

“Indeed Amotekun is not some unthoughtful fancy of the governors trying to create a nebulous counterforce to the existing security structure as some uninformed would put it. It is largely to enhance and strengthen the subsisting law enforcement agencies as it is already well established in most parts of the North.