The declaration by the Federal Government that the recently launched Western Nigeria Security Network, otherwise known as Operation Amotekun, is illegal and unconstitutional has raised some concerns. Amotekun was launched in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday, January 9 by the governors of the six states in the South West. It was described as an emergency measure to check the spate of insecurity that had for long beset the area, in spite of efforts of the security agencies.
Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, had explained that the outfit would complement the efforts of the security agencies by providing the much-needed intelligence on criminal activities in local communities and remote terrains that might be inaccessible to security operatives.
“We do not want this to create fear in the mind of anybody, as we are not creating a regional police force and are fully aware of the steps we must take to have state police,” Fayemi had said.
Indeed, in the recent past, the South West has not been immune to the security crisis bedevilling virtually every part of the country. Kidnappers, believed in many quarters to be herdsmen, had laid siege to the highways in the axis, killing, robbing and abducting people for ransom. Chief Olu Falae, former presidential candidate of the Alliance for Democracy, was kidnapped on his farm in Ondo State. Last year, Professor Yinka Adegbehingbe, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon and lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, was kidnapped along the Ife-Ibadan Expressway. Also in July, last year, Mrs. Olufunke Olakunrin, daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, was murdered on the Benin-Ore Expressway. Many others suffered similar fate in parts of the South-West.
Besides these, herders, brandishing AK 47 rifles, openly graze their cattle on people’s farms across the South-West. There are reports of killings and maiming, and of women being raped. Most of these crimes are never resolved by the police.
Worried by these excesses, and to prevent the aggrieved victims from taking the law into their hands thereby unleashing a regime of anarchy on the land, concerned stakeholders in the South West began a series of consultations. Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, had even met with some of the stakeholders with a view to finding a workable strategy to decimate the band of criminals terrorising the South West.
The state governors then decided on establishing a joint security outfit comprising personnel of the security agencies with local vigilantes with an understanding of the local communities. They were to work with and share intelligence with the police and other security operatives.
The declaration of Operation Amotekun as illegal has raised several posers from Nigerians, many of who have been trying to define the essence of the country’s federalism. In the northern part of the country, the Sharia Police, Hisbah, are allowed to operate, In the North-West, arms-bearing Civilian Joint Task Force work alongside the military against insurgents in the North-East. These are efforts to ensure security in the region. Amotekun in the South-West is not different from these other outfits. In a diverse nation of 200 million people grappling with rising insecurity, it will be difficult to secure it with less than 400, 000 policemen. Therefore, regional security outfits are required to help the police stem the growing insecurity.
With the claim by the South-West governors that the country’s security chiefs were adequately consulted before the launch of the security outfit, the Federal Government’s position on Operation Amotekun is surprising. The police need help to secure the country. We believe, therefore, that the governors of the South-West states acted in the best interests of the citizens with the formation of Amotekun. In the absence of state police, it is a model that should have been encouraged and even understudied by the federal authorities.
Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) makes security and welfare of the people the primary duty of government. The state governors, as chief security officers of their respective states, have the constitutional backing to independently or jointly to ensure that those under their control are safe and secure.
While we enjoin the South-West governors to explore all legitimate avenues to guarantee security, we urge the Federal Government to take another look on its position on the regional security outfit. The Federal Government and the South-West governors or leaders of any other zone in the country should work together and complement each other in tackling insecurity in the country.