From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has replied the Chairman, South-West Governors Forum and Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on his insistence to arm the South West Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun, with sophisticated weapons for effective operation.
In a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the presidency insisted that no state has been authorised to procure automatic weapons for their security outfits.
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; the Yoruba Council of Elders and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo had flayed the Federal Government for denying the Amotekun Corps the right to bear sophisticated weapons.
Statement reads: “The Presidency wishes to strongly assert that there is no state, not Katsina, not any other state in the federation, that has been authorised to procure automatic weapons for their security outfits.
“Under this administration, the President has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them. Where they fail to do so, the law enforcement agencies have been given clear directives to deal with any such outlaws.
“Under the existing regulations, only the Office of the National Security Adviser can issue such authorisation, upon proper clearance by the President and Commander-in-Chief, and as it is at this moment, no such approvals have been issued to any state government.
“In the specific Katsina State often cited, the Governor, Aminu Bello Masari wrote to explain that the administration invited the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College in Katsina to train their vigilantes for a five-day period “in the handling and operations of Pump Action Rifles,” emphasising that “the vigilantes were not trained to take over the responsibilities of the security agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, but to assist them.
“Government at the centre, with a national mandate, cannot afford to alienate Ondo State, or any other state for that matter, on the important issue of security and urges leaders at various levels to exercise restraint in their speech, even as we are in a political season.”