The Ooni of Ife, Enitan Adewusi Adeyeye Ojaja ll, has maintained that the introduction of the Paramilitary Organisation “Amotekun” by the Southwest governors is not to take over the duties of the State Police or military.
He said the security organisation was established to clamp down on the nefarious activities of insurgents and other security threats in the region.
He made the statement at a briefing in Lagos while reacting to the question on Amotekun being unconstitutional”, shortly before the organisation was declared illegal by the Federal Government.
He disclosed that Amotekun’s role is not to take over the duties of the State Police or military but to support the already existing security operatives, he urged that the organisation be given a chance.
“The Southwest governors decided to come together to set up Amotekun on complementary basis to support the already established security systems of Nigeria, such as the police and the arm forces, because of existing security realities. The governors, particularly the APC governors, are very close to the Federal Government and are in support of the progress of Nigeria, and the good works of this administration,” Oba Ogunwusi said.
According to him, Amotekun should be seen as a plus to curbing insurgency threats, he said: “There are some secluded places inside local communities that Nigerian arm forces cannot get to. Most breakthroughs in Boko Haram insurgents’ attacks were as results of the tips from the local vigilantes and traditional rulers and districts heads of those places.
“They would usually give hints of strange people and movements in their localities. They are the ones furnishing the military with information on where to go and not during such operations. And these have helped the Nigerian military to make headway.
“Likewise, Amotekun is established on complementary basis, to give localised intelligent information. And that is the meaning of Amotekun in Yoruba – like the animal masters its terrain, they have mastered the security intelligence of their terrain.”