Governors in all states of the Southwest geo-political zone of the country have been urged to be decisive in tackling criminal elements and their activities in the region by investing heavily in the local and grassroots policing for a secured society.
Chairman of council of Amotekun Corps commanders in the South West, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye stated this in Ado-Ekiti counselling the governors in the zone to back and adopt the proposed establishment of the state police to address insecurity in the region and the country at large.
Adeleye who is the commander of Amotekun Corps in Ondo State appreciated the six Southwest governors for their support for the South West Security Network and solicited the cooperation of stakeholders especially traditional rulers and the people by volunteering timely information on suspicious activities in their communities.
He spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital while delivering a lecture, titled ‘Breaking the Barriers to a Secured Society ‘organized by the Ekiti State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in conjunction with the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, South West and the State Bureau of Local Content.
The Amotekun boss noted that the conventional security agencies secure the country effectively but decried that bureaucratic bottlenecks and other factors have limited their performances.
“The issue of insecurity in Nigeria is a serious problem now and the solution is grassroots policing, which is state policing. The bureaucracy with the existing security arrangements is so wide that by the time instructions come from the high and mighty, the criminals are gone.
“The South West governors should endeavor to empower our own home-grown security which is Amotekun to complement the efforts of the modern security agencies. Community policing is the panacea to resolving security challenges,’’ he said.
In his address at the event, Ekiti State governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji explained that his administration in the last one and half year invested in the security network in the state with constant engagements and provision of necessary operational equipment.
The governor who was represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Brig Gen Ebenezer Ogundana (rtd), lamented the recent security breaches in the state over the killings of two traditional rulers, saying the state security architecture has been rejigged for effective crime control and prevention.
He disclosed that a security committee has been set up with neighbouring states to provide a blueprint that would enhance joint border patrols and intelligence sharing.
The chairman of NUJ in Ekiti state, Kayode Babatuyi who commended the Amotekun boss for accepting to deliver the lecture in the interest of the society, said the event was necessary for the union to collate suggestions and ideas in support of government and security agencies in a bid to ride the state of criminal elements.
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