The position taken by the governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), to arm Amotekun troops with sophisticated weapons similar to those used by their counterparts in Katsina State, has received backing from the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organization Afenifere.
The organization expressed shock that the Federal Government was purportedly using two systems in the same country in a statement released yesterday, saying it fully supported the governor’s decision.
The six Southwest states came together to form the Ondo State Security Network, also known by the code name Amotekun, in order to address the demand for local security in the face of increased kidnapping, armed robbery, and other criminal activity. It was founded in the six states two years ago, but the federal government forbade it from possessing advanced weapons.
However, Akeredolu criticized the Federal Government in a statement on Thursday, claiming that it had denied Amotekun the right to own advanced weapons but had granted it to its equivalent in Katsina State.
In a statement released by Comrade Jare Ajayi, Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, it was suggested that while there are several examples that could be given, “we want to restrict ourselves to the most recent one for now because of the serious implications it holds for our security, political and socio-economic well-being.
“Amotekun is denied the licence to be equipped with sophisticated weapons that would be capable of confronting the terrorists and bandits.” Afenifere lamented.
The second issue that Ajayi said was a plot by the Federal Government to restrain Amotekun is actually in place.
“Amotekun is robbed of the power to prosecute suspects apprehended notwithstanding the evidence they marshal. They must hand the culprits over to the police that is under firm control of the Federal Government. Complaints are rife that many cases handed over to the police by Amotekun ended up without proper prosecution, if at all. Rumours had it that some culprits ended up being released by the police – a reason being given for the rise in people taking laws into their own hands.” The statement read in part.
Speaking further about the alleged double standard of the Federal Government, Afenifere’s spokesman recalled that while the government wasted no time in using the strong arm against groups in the South that are agitating for self-determination, bandits, who are primarily of northern extraction, were declared terrorists after considerable public pressure.
He also brought up the instance of Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue State, who has been trying in vain since August to obtain a federal license to arm the state’s Vigilante Group.
“This, along with the experience of the Southwest governors in regard to Amotekun, was what made Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State to speak angrily on the preferential treatment given to Katsina State Government. His angst is highly justified.”
